Once
the Evangelical churches had achieved some external stability, the need was to
strengthen them internally. Luther had already produced a number of sermons and
pamphlets, beginning as far back as 1516, to present popular instruction on
basic elements of Christian doctrine. In 1525 he assigned to his friends Justus
Jonas and John Agricola the task of composing a book of religious instruction
for children, which he referred to as a “catechism.” When this work suffered
delay, as did also an attempt in 1528 by Philip Melanchthon, Luther took the
initiative again. He assigned to Melanchthon the composition of the
“Instruction to the Visitors of the Clergy in the Electorate of Saxony” (1528)
while he himself undertook the preparation of a catechism.

The
immediate background material consists of three series of sermons which Luther
preached in May, September, and November-December, 1528, and March, 1529.
Before these sermons were ended Luther was at work writing the Large Catechism.
Parts of it were sent to the press before the whole was completed, which helps
to explain the discrepancies in the text of the Ten Commandments.

In
April, 1529, the “German Catechism” appeared, printed by George Rhaw in
Wittenberg. (The title “Large Catechism” is not Luther’s.) Later the same year
Luther issued a revised edition which added an “Exhortation to Confession,” a
lengthy insertion in the introduction to the explanation of the Lord’s Prayer,
and several marginal notes. This edition was the first to be illustrated, some
of the cuts coming from Lucas Cranach the Elder. Another edition appeared in
1530, furnished with a second and longer preface which had probably been
composed at the Coburg. The last revision corrected by Luther himself came out
in 1538.

A
Latin translation of the Large Catechism appeared in 1529 and a second edition
in 1544, the work of a humanist, Vincent Obsopoeus, who undertook to make of it
a stylistic showpiece by adorning it with classical citations and allusions to
ancient history. Otherwise it is generally a slavish translation of Luther’s
German. It was not necessary, therefore, to reproduce here the Latin variations
om the German text.

MARTIN
LUTHER’S PREFACE

1
It is not for trivial reasons that we constantly treat the Catechism and
strongly urge others to do the same. For we see to our sorrow that many pastors
and preachers2 are very negligent in this respect and despise both their office
and this teaching itself. Some because of their great and lofty learning,
others because of sheer laziness and gluttony, behave in this matter as if they
were pastors or preachers for their bellies’ sake and had nothing to do but
live off the fat of the land all their days, as they used to do under the
papacy.

2
Everything that they are to teach and preach is now available to them in clear
and simple form in the many excellent books which are in reality what the old
manuals claimed in their titles to be: “Sermons That Preach Themselves,” “Sleep
Soundly,” “Prepared!” and “Treasury.”3 However, they are not so upright and
honest as to buy these books, or if they have them, to examine and read them.
Such shameful gluttons and servants of their bellies would make better
swineherds or dogkeepers than spiritual guides or pastors.

3
Now that they are free from the useless, bothersome babbling of the Seven
Hours,4 it would be fine if every morning, noon, and evening they would read,
instead, at least a page or two from the Catechism, the Prayer Book,5 the New
Testament, or something else from the Bible and would pray the Lord’s Prayer
for themselves and their parishioners. In this way they might show honor and
gratitude to the Gospel, through which they have been delivered from so many
burdens and troubles, and they might feel a little shame because, like pigs and
dogs, they remember no more of the Gospel than this rotten, pernicious,
shameful, carnal liberty. 4 As it is, the common people take the Gospel
altogether too lightly, and even our utmost exertions accomplish but little.
What, then, can we expect if we are sluggish and lazy, as we used to be under
the papacy?

5
Besides, a shameful and insidious plague of security and boredom has overtaken
us. Many regard the Catechism as a simple, silly teaching which they can absorb
and master at one reading. After reading it once they toss the book into a
corner as if they are ashamed to read it again. (tr-569) 6 Indeed, even among
the nobility there are some louts and skinflints who declare that we can do
without pastors and preachers from now on because they have everything in books
and can learn it all by ourselves. So they blithely let parishes fall into
decay, and brazenly allow both pastors and preachers to suffer distress and
hunger. This is what one can expect of crazy Germans. We Germans have such
disgraceful people among us and must put up with them.

7
As for myself, let me say that I, too, am a doctor and a preacher — yes, and as
learned and experienced as any of those who act so high and mighty. Yet I do as
a child who is being taught the Catechism. Every morning, and whenever else I
have time, I read and recite word for word the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten
Commandments, the Creed, the Psalms, etc. 8 I must still read and study the
Catechism daily, yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain a child and
pupil of the Catechism, and I do it gladly. These dainty, fastidious fellows
would like quickly, with one reading, to become doctors above all doctors, to
know all there is to be known. Well, this, too, is a sure sign that they
despise both their office and the people’s souls, yes, even God and his Word.
They need not fear a fall, for they have already fallen all too horribly. What
they need is to become children and begin learning their ABC’s, which they
think they have outgrown long ago.

9
Therefore, I beg these lazy-bellies and presumptuous saints, for God’s sake, to
get it into their heads that they are not really and truly such learned and
great doctors as they think. I implore them not to imagine that they have
learned these parts of the Catechism perfectly, or at least sufficiently, even
though they think they know them ever so well. Even if their knowledge of
Catechism were perfect (though that is impossible in this life), yet it is
highly profitable and fruitful daily to read it and make it the subject of
meditation and conversation. In such reading, conversation, and meditation the
Holy Spirit is present and bestows ever new and greater light and fervor, so
that day by day we relish and appreciate the Catechism more greatly. This is
according to Christ’s promise in Matt. 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered
in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

10
Nothing is so effectual against the devil, the world, the flesh, and all evil
thoughts as to occupy oneself with the Word of God, talk about it, and meditate
on it. Psalm 1 calls those blessed who “meditate on God’s law day and night.”6
You will never offer up any incense or other savor more potent (tr-571) against
the devil than to occupy yourself with God’s commandments and words and to
speak, sing, and meditate on them. This, indeed, is the true holy water, the
sign which routs the devil and puts him to flight.7

11
For this reason alone you should eagerly read, recite, ponder, and practice the
Catechism, even if the only blessing and benefit you obtain from it is to rout
the devil and evil thoughts. For he cannot bear to hear God’s Word. God’s Word
is not like some empty tale, such as the one about Dietrich of

Bern,8
but as St. Paul says in Rom. 1:16, it is “the power of God,” indeed, the power
of God which burns the devil and gives us immeasurable strength, comfort, and
help.

12
Why should I waste words? Time and paper would fail me if I were to recount all
the blessings that flow from God’s Word. The devil is called the master of a
thousand arts. What, then, shall we call God’s Word, which routs and destroys
this master of a thousand arts with all his wiles and might? It must, indeed,
be master of more than a hundred thousand arts. 13 Shall we frivolously despise
this might, blessing, power, and fruit — especially we who would be pastors and
preachers? If so, we deserve not only to be refused food but also to be chased
out by dogs and pelted with dung. Not only do we need God’s Word daily as we
need our daily bread; we also must use it daily against the daily, incessant attacks
and ambushes of the devil with his thousand arts.

14
If this were not enough to admonish us to read the Catechism daily, there is
God’s command. That alone should be incentive enough. Deut. 6:7, 8 solemnly
enjoins that we should always meditate upon his precepts whether sitting,
walking, standing, lying down, or rising, and keep them before our eyes and in
our hands as a constant token and sign. Certainly God did not require and
command this so solemnly without good reason. He knows our danger and need. He
knows the constant and furious attacks and assaults of the devil. So he wishes
to warn, equip, and protect us against them with good “armor” against their
“flaming darts,”9 and with a good antidote against their evil infection and
poison. 15 O what mad, senseless fools we are! We must ever live and dwell in
the midst of such mighty enemies as the devils, and yet we despise our weapons
and armor, too lazy to give them a thought!

16
Look at these bored, presumptuous saints who will not or cannot read and study
the Catechism daily. They evidently consider themselves much wiser than
(tr-573) God himself, and wiser than all his holy angels, prophets, apostles,
and all Christians! God himself is not ashamed to teach it daily, for he knows
of nothing better to teach, and he always keeps on teaching this one thing
without varying it with anything new or different. All the saints know of
nothing better or different to learn, though they cannot learn it to
perfection. Are we not most marvelous fellows, therefore, if we imagine, after
reading or hearing it once, that we know it all and need not read or study it
any more? Most marvelous fellows, to think we can finish learning in one hour
what God himself cannot finish teaching! Actually, he is busy teaching it from
the beginning of the world to the end, and all prophets and saints have been
busy learning it and have always remained pupils, and must continue to do so.

17
This much is certain: anyone who knows the Ten Commandments perfectly knows the
entire Scriptures. In all affairs and circumstances he can counsel, help,
comfort, judge, and make decisions in both spiritual and temporal matters. He
is qualified to sit in judgment upon all doctrines, estates, persons, laws, and
everything else in the world.

18
What is the whole Psalter but meditations and exercises based on the First
Commandment? Now, I know beyond a doubt that such lazy-bellies and presumptuous
fellows do not understand a single Psalm, much less the entire Scriptures, yet
they pretend to know and despise the Catechism, which is a brief compend and
summary of all the Holy Scriptures.

19
Therefore, I once again implore all Christians, especially pastors and
preachers, not to try to be doctors prematurely and to imagine that they know
everything. Vain imaginations, like new cloth, suffer shrinkage! Let all
Christians exercise themselves in the Catechism daily, and constantly put it
into practice, guarding themselves with the greatest care and diligence against
the poisonous infection of such security or vanity. Let them continue to read
and teach, to learn and meditate and ponder. Let them never stop until they
have proved by experience that they have taught the devil to death and have
become wiser than God himself and all his saints.

20
If they show such diligence, then I promise them — and their experience will
bear me out — that they will gain much fruit and God will make excellent men of
them. Then in due time they themselves

will
make the noble confession that the longer they work with the Catechism, the
less they know of it and the more they have to learn. Only then, hungry and
thirsty, will they truly relish what now they cannot bear to smell because they
are so bloated and surfeited. To this end may God grant his grace! men.

PREFACE

1
This sermon has been undertaken for the instruction of children and uneducated
people. Hence from ancient times it has been called in Greek, a “catechism” —
that is, instruction for children. 2 Its contents represent the minimum of
knowledge required of a Christian. Whoever does not possess it should not be
reckoned among Christians nor admitted to a sacrament,2 just as a craftsman who
does not know the rules and practices of his craft is rejected and considered
incompetent. 3 For this reason young people should be thoroughly instructed in
the various parts of the Catechism or children’s sermons and diligently drilled
in their practice.

4
Therefore, it is the duty of every head of a household to examine his children
and servants at least once a week and ascertain what they have learned of it,
and if they do not know it, to keep them faithfully at it. 5 I well remember
the time when there were old people who were so ignorant that they knew nothing
of these things — indeed, even now we find them daily — yet they come to
Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar and exercise all the rights of
Christians, although those who come to the sacrament ought to know more and
have a fuller understanding of all Christian doctrine than children and
beginners at school. 6 As for the common people, however, we should be
satisfied if they learned the three parts3 which have been heritage of
Christendom from ancient times, though they were rarely taught and treated
correctly, so that all who wish to be Christians in fact as well as in name,
both young nd old, may be well-trained in them and familiar with them.

I.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

1
1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2
2. You shall not take the name of God in vain.

3
3. You shall keep the Sabbath day holy.

4
4. You shall honor father and mother.

5
5. You shall not kill.

6
6. You shall not commit adultery.

7
7. You shall not steal.

8
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.(tr-577)

9
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

10
10. You shall not covet his wife, man-servant, maid-servant, cattle, or
anything that is his.4

II.
THE CHIEF ARTICLES OF OUR FAITH

11
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth:

12
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried: he descended into hell, the third day he rose from the dead,
he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, the Father
almighty, whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

13
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,5 the communion of
saints, the forgiveness f sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen.

III.
THE PRAYER, OR OUR FATHER,WHICH CHRIST TAUGHT

14
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and
forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen.6

15
These are the most necessary parts of Christian instruction. We should learn to
repeat them word for word. 16 Our children should be taught the habit of
reciting them daily when they rise in the morning, when they go to their meals,
and they go to bed at night; until they repeat them they should not be given
anything to eat or drink. 17 Every father has the same duty to his household;
he should dismiss man-servants and maid-servants if they do not know these
things and are unwilling to learn them. 18 Under no circumstances should a
person be tolerated if he is so rude and unruly that he refuses to learn these
three parts in which everything contained in Scripture is comprehended in
short, plain, and (tr-579) simple terms, 19 for the dear fathers or apostles,
whoever they were,7 have thus summed up the doctrine, life, wisdom, and
learning which constitute the Christian’s conversation, conduct and concern. 20
When these three parts are understood, we ought also to know what to say about
the sacraments which Christ himself instituted. Baptism and the holy Body and
Blood of Christ, according to the texts of Matthew and Mark at the end of their
Gospels where they describe how Christ said farewell to his isciples and sent
them forth.

BAPTISM

“Go
and teach all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). “He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

22
It is enough for an ordinary person to know this much about Baptism from the
Scriptures. The ther sacrament may be dealt with similarly, in short, simple
words according to the text of St. Paul.

THE
SACRAMENT [OF THE ALTAR]

“Our
Lord Jesus Christ on the night when he was betrayed took bread, gave thanks,
and broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat, this is my
body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

“In
the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament
in my blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as
often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor. 11:23-25).

24
Thus we have, in all, five parts covering the whole of Christian doctrine,
which we should constantly teach and require young people to recite word for
word. Do not assume that they will learn and retain this teaching from sermons
alone. 25 When these parts have been well learned, you may assign them also
some Psalms and some hymns,8 based on these subjects, to supplement and confirm
their knowledge. Thus our youth will be led into the Scriptures so they make
progress daily.

26
However, it is not enough for them simply to learn and repeat these parts
verbatim. The young people should also attend preaching, especially at the time
designated for the Catechism,9 so that they may hear it explained and may learn
the meaning of (tr-581) every part. Then they will also be able to repeat what
they have heard and give a good, correct answer when they are questioned, and
thus the preaching will not be without benefit and fruit. 27 The reason we take
such care to preach on the Catechism frequently is to impress it upon our
youth, not in a lofty and learned manner but briefly and very simply, so that
it may penetrate deeply into their minds and remain fixed in their memories. 28
Now we shall take up the above-mentioned parts one by one and in the plainest
possible manner say bout them as much as is necessary.

[FIRST PART:] THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

THE
FIRST COMMANDMENT

“You
shall have no other gods.”

1
That is, you shall regard me alone as your God. What does this mean, and how is
it to be understood? What is to have a god? What is God?

2
Answer: A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge
in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe
him with our whole heart. As I have often said, the trust and faith of the
heart alone make both God and an idol. 3 If your faith and trust are right,
then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your trust is false and
wrong, then you have not the true God. For these two belong together, faith and
God. That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your
God.

4
The purpose of this commandment, therefore, is to require true faith and
confidence of the heart, and these fly straight to the one true God and cling
to him alone. The meaning is: “See to it that you let me alone be your God, and
never seek another.” In other words: “Whatever good thing you lack, look to me
for it and seek it from me, and whenever you suffer misfortune and distress,
come and cling to me. I am the one who will satisfy you and help you out of every
need. Only let your heart cling to no one else.”

5
This I must explain a little more plainly, so that it may be understood and
remembered, by citing some common examples of failure to observe this
commandment. Many a person thinks he has God and everything he needs when he
has money and property; in them he trusts and of them he boasts so stubbornly
and securely that he cares for no one. 6 Surely such a man also has a god —
mammon1 by name, that is, money and possessions (tr-583) — on which he fixes
his whole heart. It is the most common idol on earth. 7 He who has money and
property feels secure, happy, fearless, as if he were sitting in the midst of
paradise. 8 On the other hand, he who has nothing doubts and despairs as if he
never heard of God. 9 Very few there are who are cheerful, who do not fret and
complain, if they do not have mammon. This desire for wealth clings and cleaves
to our nature all the way to the grave.

10
So, too, if anyone boasts of great learning, wisdom, power, prestige, family,
and honor, and trusts in them, he also has a god, but not the one, true God.
Notice, again, how presumptuous, secure, and proud people become because of
such possessions, and how despondent when they lack them or are deprived of
them. Therefore, I repeat, to have a God properly means to have something in
which the heart trusts completely.

11
Again, consider what we used to do in our blindness under the papacy. If anyone
had a toothache, he fasted to the honor of St. Apollonia; if he feared fire, he
sought St. Lawrence as his patron; if he feared the plague, he made a vow to
St. Sebastian or Roch.2 There were countless other

such
abominations, and every person selected his own saint and worshiped and invoked
him in time of need. 12 In this class belong those who go so far as to make a
pact with the devil in order that he may give them plenty of money, help them
in love affairs, protect their cattle, recover lost possessions, etc., as
magicians and sorcerers do. All these fix their heart and trust elsewhere than in
the true God. They neither expect nor seek anything from him.

13
Thus you can easily understand the nature and scope of this commandment. It
requires that man’s whole heart and confidence be placed in God alone, and in
no one else. To have God, you see, does not mean to lay hands upon him, or put
him into a purse, or shut him up in a chest. 14 We lay hold of him when our
heart embraces him and clings to him. 15 To cling to him with all our heart is
nothing else than to entrust ourselves to him completely. He wishes to turn us
away from everything else, and draw us to himself, because he is the one
eternal good. It is as if he said: “What you formerly sought from the saints,
or what you hoped to receive from (tr-585) mammon or anything else, turn to me
for all this; look upon me as the one who wishes to help you and to lavish all
good upon you richly.”

16
Behold, here you have the true honor and the true worship which please God and
which he commands under penalty of eternal wrath, namely, that the heart should
know no other consolation or confidence than that in him, nor let itself be
torn from him, but for him should risk and disregard everything else on earth.
17 On the other hand, you can easily judge how the world practices nothing but
false worship and idolatry. There has never been a people so wicked that it did
not establish and maintain some sort of worship. Everyone has set up a god of
his own, to which he looked for blessings, help, and comfort.

18
For example, the heathen who put their trust in power and dominion exalted
Jupiter as their supreme god. Others who strove for riches, happiness,
pleasure, and a life of ease venerated Hercules, Mercury, Venus, or others,
while pregnant women worshiped Diana or Lucina,3 and so forth. Everyone made
into a god that to which his heart was inclined. Even in the mind of all the
heathen, therefore, to have a god means to trust and believe. 19 The trouble is
that their trust is false and wrong, for it is not founded upon the one God,
apart from whom there is truly no god in heaven or on earth. 20 Accordingly the
heathen actually fashion their fancies and dreams about God into an idol and
entrust themselves to an empty nothing. 21 So it is with all idolatry. Idolatry
does not consist merely of erecting an image and praying to it. It is primarily
in the heart, which pursues other things and seeks help and consolation from
creatures, saints, or devils. It neither cares for God nor expects good things
from him sufficiently to trust that he wants to help, nor does it believe that
whatever good it receives comes from God.

22
There is, moreover, another false worship. This is the greatest idolatry that
has been practiced up to now, and it is still prevalent in the world. Upon it
all the religious orders are founded. It concerns only that conscience which
seeks help, comfort, and salvation in its own works and presumes to wrest
heaven from God. It keeps account how often it has made endowments, fasted,
celebrated Mass, etc. On such things it relies and of them it boasts, unwilling
to receive anything as a gift from God, but desiring by itself to earn or merit
everything by works of supererogation, just as if God were in our service or
debt and we were his liege lords. 23 What is this but making God into an idol —
indeed, an “apple-god”4 — (tr-587) and setting up ourselves as God? This
reasoning, however, is a little too subtle to be understood by young pupils.

24
This much, however, should be said to ordinary people so that they may mark
well and remember the meaning of this commandment: We are to trust in God alone
and turn to him, expecting from him only good things; for it is he who gives us
body, life, food, drink, nourishment, health, protection, peace, and all
temporal and eternal blessings. It is he who protects us from evil, he who
saves and delivers us when any evil befalls. It is God alone, I have often
enough repeated, from whom

we
receive all that is good and by whom we are delivered from all evil. 25 This, I
think, is why we Germans from ancient times have called God by a name more
elegant and worthy than any found in other languages, a name derived from the
word “good”5 because he is an eternal fountain which overflows with sheer
goodness and pours forth all that is good in name and in fact.

26
Although much that is good comes to us from men, we receive it all from God
through his command and ordinance. Our parents and all authorities — in short,
all people placed in the position of neighbors — have received the command to
do us all kinds of good. So we receive our blessings not from them, but from
God through them. Creatures are only the hands, channels, and means through
which God bestows all blessings. For example, he gives to the mother breasts
and milk for her infant, and he gives grain and all kinds of fruits from the
earth for man’s nourishment — things which no creature could produce by
himself. 27 No one, therefore, should presume to take or give anything except
as God has commanded it. We must acknowledge everything as God’s gifts and
thank him for them, as this commandment requires. Therefore, this way of
receiving good through God’s creatures is not to be disdained, nor are we
arrogantly to seek other ways and means than God has commanded, for that would
be not receiving our blessings from God but seeking them from ourselves.

28
Let everyone, then, take care to magnify and exalt this commandment above all
things and not make light of it. Search and examine your own heart thoroughly
and you will find whether or not it clings to God alone. Do you have the kind
of heart that expects from him nothing but good, especially in distress and
want, and renounces and forsakes all that is not God? Then you have the one
true God. On the contrary, does your heart cling to something else, from which
it hopes to receive more good and help than from God, and does it flee not to
him but from him when things go wrong? Then you have an idol, another god.

(tr-589)
29 Consequently, in order to show that God will not have this commandment taken
lightly but will strictly watch over it, he has attached to it, first, a
terrible threat and, then, a beautiful, comforting promise. These should be
thoroughly stressed and impressed upon young people so that they may take them
to heart and remember them.

[EXPLANATION
OF THE APPENDIX TO THE FIRST COMMANDMENT]6

30
“For I am the Lord your God, mighty and jealous, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate
me, and showing mercy to many thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.”7

31
Although these words apply to all the commandments (as we shall hear later),8
yet they are attached precisely to this one which stands at the head of the
list because it is of the utmost importance for a man to have the right head.
For where the head is right, the whole life must be right, and vice versa. 32
Learn from these words, then, how angry God is with those who rely on anything
but himself, and again, how kind and gracious he is to those who trust and
believe him alone with their whole heart. His wrath does not abate until the
fourth generation. 33 On the other hand, his kindness and goodness extend to
many thousands, lest men live in security and commit themselves to luck, like
brutes who think that it makes no great difference how they live. 34 He is a
God who takes vengeance upon men who turn away from him, and his anger
continues to the fourth generation, until they are utterly exterminated.
Therefore he wills to be feared and not to be despised.

35
This he has witnessed in all the records of history, as Scripture amply shows
and as daily experience can still teach us. From the beginning he has
completely rooted out all idolatry, and on that account he has destroyed both
heathen and Jews; just so in our day he overthrows all false worship so that
all who persist in it must ultimately perish. 36 Even now there are proud,
powerful, and rich pot-

bellies
who, not caring whether God frowns or smiles, boast defiantly of their mammon
and believe that they can withstand his wrath. But they will not succeed.
Before they know it they will be wrecked, along with all they have trusted in,
just as all others have perished who thought themselves to be so high and
mighty.

37
Just because such blockheads imagine, when God refrains from (tr-591) disturbing
their security, that he is unconcerned or uninterested in such matters, he must
strike and punish them so severely that he will not forget his anger down to
their children’s children. He intends that everyone shall be impressed and see
that this is no laughing matter with him. 38 These are also the people he means
when he says, “who hate me,” that is, those who persist in their stubbornness
and pride. They refuse to hear what is preached or spoken to them. When they
are rebuked, to bring them to their senses and cause them to mend their ways
before punishment descends, they become so mad and foolish that they justly
merit the wrath they receive. We observe this every day in the case of bishops
and princes. 39 Terrible as these threats are, much mightier is the comfort in
the promise that assures mercy to those who cling to God alone — sheer goodness
and blessing, not only for themselves but also for their children to a thousand
and even many thousands of generations. 40 Certainly, if we desire all good things
in time and eternity, this ought to move and impel us to fix our hearts upon
God with perfect confidence since the divine Majesty comes to us with so
gracious an offer, so cordial an invitation, and so rich a promise.

41
Therefore let everyone be careful not to regard this as if it were spoken by
man. For it brings you either eternal blessing, happiness, and salvation, or
eternal wrath, misery, and woe. What more could you ask or desire than God’s
gracious promise that he will be yours with every blessing and will protect and
help you in every need? 42 The trouble is that the world does not believe this
at all, and does not recognize it as God’s Word. For the world sees that those
who trust God and not mammon suffer grief and want and are opposed and attacked
by the devil. They have neither money, prestige, nor honor, and can scarcely
even keep alive; meanwhile, those who serve mammon have power, prestige, honor,
wealth, and every comfort in the eyes of the world. Accordingly, we must grasp
these words, even in the face of this apparent contradiction, and learn that
they neither lie nor deceive but will yet prove to be true.

43
Reflect on the past, search it out, and tell me, When men have devoted all
their care and diligence to scraping together great wealth and money, what have
they gained in the end? You will find that they have wasted their effort and
toil or, if they have amassed great treasures, that these have (tr-593) turned
to dust and vanished. They themselves have never found happiness in their wealth,
nor has it ever lasted to the third generation.9 44 Examples of this you will
find aplenty in all histories and in the recollections of elderly and
experienced people. Just ponder and heed them. 45 Saul was a great king, chosen
by God, and an upright man; but once he was secure on his throne and he let his
heart depart from God, placing his confidence in his crown and power, he
inevitably perished with all that he had; not one of his children remained.1 46
David, on the other hand, was a poor, despised man, hunted down and persecuted,
his life nowhere secure, yet inevitably he remained safe from Saul and became
king.2 These words must stand and prove to be true since God cannot lie or
deceive; just leave it to the devil and the world to deceive you with their
appearance, which indeed endures for a time but in the end is nothing!3

47
Let us therefore learn the first commandment well and realize that God will
tolerate no presumption and no trust in any other object; he makes no greater
demand of us than a hearty trust in him for all blessings. Then we shall be on
the right path and walk straight ahead, using all of God’s gifts exactly as a
cobbler uses his needle, awl, and thread (for work, eventually to lay them
aside) or as

a
traveler avails himself of an inn, food, and bed (only for his temporal need).
Let each person be in his station in life according to God’s order, allowing
none of these good things to be his lord or idol.

48
Let this suffice for the First Commandment. We had to explain it at length
since it is the most important. For, as I said before,4 where the heart is
right with God and this commandment is kept, lfillment of all the others will
follow of its own accord.

THE
SECOND COMMANDMENT

49
“You shall not take the name of God in vain.”

50
As the First Commandment has inwardly instructed the heart and taught faith, so
this commandment leads us outward and directs the lips and the tongue into the
right relation to God. The first things that issue and emerge from the heart
are words. As I have taught above how to answer the question, What it is to
have a God, so you must learn (tr-595) to grasp simply the meaning of this and
all the other commandments and apply them to yourself.

51
If you are asked, “How do you understand the Second Commandment? What does it
mean to misuse or take the name of God in vain?” you should answer briefly: “It
is a misuse of God’s name if we call upon the Lord God in any way whatsoever to
support falsehood or wrong of any kind.” Therefore what this commandment
forbids is appealing to God’s name falsely or taking his name upon our lips
when our heart knows or should know that the facts are otherwise — for example,
where men take oaths in court and one side lies against the other. 52 God’s name
cannot be more grievously abused than for purposes of falsehood and deceit. Let
this stand as the plain and simple meaning of this commandment.

53
From this everyone can readily infer when and in how many ways God’s name is
abused, though it is impossible to enumerate all its misuses. To discuss it
briefly, misuse of the divine name occurs most obviously in worldly business
and in matters involving money, property, and honor, whether publicly in court
or in the market or elsewhere, when a person perjures himself, swearing by
God’s name or by his own soul. This is especially common in marriage matters
when two persons secretly betroth themselves to each other and afterward deny
it under oath.

54
The greatest abuse, however, occurs in spiritual matters, which pertain to the
conscience, when false preachers arise and peddle their lying nonsense as the
Word of God.

55
See, all this is an attempt to embellish yourself with God’s name or to put up
a good front and justify yourself, whether in ordinary worldly affairs or in
sublime and difficult matters of faith and doctrine. Also to be counted among
liars are blasphemers, not only the very crass ones who are well known to
everyone and who disgrace God’s name unabashedly (these belong in the hangman’s
school, not ours), but also those who publicly slander the truth and God’s Word
and consign it to the devil. Of this there is no need to speak further.

56
Let us take to heart how important this commandment is and diligently shun and
avoid every misuse of the holy name as the greatest sin that can be committed
outwardly. For to lie and deceive is in itself a gross sin, but it is greatly
aggravated when we attempt to justify and confirm (tr-597) it by invoking God’s
name and using it as a cloak to cover our shame. So from a single lie a double
one results — indeed, manifold lies.

57
Therefore God has attached to this commandment a solemn threat: “for the Lord
will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” This means that in no
one shall a violation be condoned or left unpunished. As little as God will
permit the heart that turns away from him to go unpunished, so little will he
permit his name to be used to gloss over a lie. 58 Unfortunately it is now a
common

calamity
all over the world that there are few who do not use the name of God for lies
and all kinds of wickedness, just as there are few who trust in God with their
whole heart.

59
By nature we all have this beautiful virtue that whenever we commit a wrong we
like to cover and gloss over our disgrace so that no one may see it or know it.
Nor man is so arrogant as to boast before the whole world of the wickedness he
has committed. We prefer to act in secret without anyone’s being aware of it.
Then if anyone is denounced, God and his name have to be dragged in to turn the
villainy into righteousness and the disgrace into honor. 60 This is the common
course of the world. Like a great deluge, it has flooded all lands. Hence we
get what we deserve: plague, war, famine, fire, flood, wayward wives and
children and servants, and troubles of every kind. Where else could so much
misery come from? It is a great mercy that the earth still bears and sustains
us.

61
Above all things, therefore, our young people should be strictly required and
trained to hold this as well as the other commandments in high regard. Whenever
they transgress, we must be after them at once with the rod, confront them with
the commandment, and continually impress it upon them, so that they may be
brought up not merely with punishment but in the reverence and fear of God.

62
Now you understand what it means to take God’s name in vain. To repeat very
briefly, it is either simply to lie and assert under his name something that is
not so, or to curse, swear, conjure, and, in short, to practice wickedness of
any sort.

63
In addition, you must also know how to use the name of God aright. With the
words, (tr-599) “You shall not take the name of God in vain,” God at the same
time gives us to understand that we are to use his name properly, for it has
been revealed and given to us precisely for our use and benefit. 64 Since we
are forbidden here to use the holy name in support of falsehood or wickedness,
it follows, conversely that we are commanded to use it in the service of truth
and all that is good — for example, when we swear properly where it is
necessary and required. So, also, when we teach properly; again, when we call
on his name in time of need, or praise and thank him in time of prosperity,
etc. All this is summarized in the command in Ps. 50:15, “Call upon me in the
day of trouble: I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.” All this is what
we mean by calling upon his name in service of truth and using it devoutly.
Thus his name is hallowed, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer.

65
Here you have the substance of the entire commandment explained. If it is so
understood, you have easily solved the question that has tormented so many
teachers:5 why swearing is forbidden in the Gospel,6 and yet Christ, St. Paul,7
and other saints took oaths. 66 The explanation is briefly this: We are not to
swear in support of evil (that is, to a falsehood) or unnecessarily; but in
support of the good and for the advantage of our neighbor we are to swear. This
is a truly good work by which God is praised, truth and justice are
established, falsehood is refuted, people are reconciled, obedience is
rendered, and quarrels are settled. For here God himself intervenes and
separates right from wrong, good from evil. 67 If one party in a dispute swears
falsely, he will not escape punishment. Though it may take a long time, nothing
he does will in the end succeed; everything he may gain by the false oath will
slip through his fingers and will never be enjoyed. 68 This I have seen in the
case of many who broke their promise of marriage; they never enjoyed a happy
hour or a healthful day thereafter, and thus they miserably perished, body,
soul, and possessions.

69
Therefore I advise and urge, as I have before, that by means of warning and
threat, restraint and punishment, children be trained in due time to shun
falsehood and especially to avoid calling upon God’s name in its support. Where
they are allowed to do as they please, no good will come of it. It is evident
that the world today is more wicked than it has ever been. There is no
government, no obedience, no fidelity, no faith(tr-601) — only perverse,
unbridled men whom no teaching or punishment can help. All this is God’s wrath
and punishment upon such willful contempt of this commandment.

70
On the other hand, children should be constantly urged and encouraged to honor
God’s name and keep it constantly upon their lips in all circumstances and
experiences, for true honor to God’s name consists of looking to it for all
consolation and therefore calling upon it. Thus, as we have heard above, the
heart by faith first gives God the honor due him and then the lips do so by
confession.

71
This is a blessed and useful habit, and very effective against the devil, who
is ever around us, lying in wait to lure us into sin and shame, calamity and
trouble. He hates to hear God’s name and cannot long remain when it is uttered
and invoked from the heart. 72 Many a terrible and shocking calamity would
befall us if God did not preserve us through our calling upon his name. I have
tried it myself and learned by experience that often sudden, great calamity was
averted and vanished in the very moment I called upon God. To defy the devil, I
say, we should always keep the holy name on our lips so that he may not be able
to injure us as he is eager to do.

73
For this purpose it also helps to form the habit of commending ourselves each
day to God — our soul and body, wife, children, servants, and all that we have
— for his protection against every conceivable need. Thus has originated and
continued among us the custom of saying grace and returning thanks at meals and
saying other prayers for both morning and evening.8 74 From the same source
came the custom of children who cross themselves when they see or hear anything
monstrous or fearful and exclaim, “Lord God, save us!” “Help, dear Lord
Christ!” etc. Thus, too, if anyone meets with unexpected good fortune, however
trivial, he may say, “God be praised and thanked!” “This God has bestowed upon
me!” etc. Children used to be trained to fast and pray to St. Nicholas and
other saints, but the other practices would be more pleasing and acceptable to
God than any monastic life and Carthusian holiness.9

75
With childish and playful methods like these we may bring up our youth in the
fear and honor of God so that the First and Second commandments may become
familiar and be constantly practiced. Then some good may take root, spring up,
and bear fruit, and men may grow up of whom an entire land may be proud. 76
This would be the right way to bring up children, so long as they (tr-603) can
be trained with kind and pleasant methods, for those who have to be forced by
means of rods and blows will come to no good end; at best they will remain good
only as long as the rod is on their backs.

77
This kind of training takes such root in their hearts that they fear God more
than they do rods and clubs. This I say plainly for the sake of the young, so
that it may sink into their minds, for when we preach to children, we must also
speak their language. Thus we have averted the misuse of the divine name and
taught that its right use consists not only of words but also of practice and
life. We want them to know that God is well pleased with the right use of his
name and will as richly reward it, even s he will terribly punish its misuse.

THE
THIRD COMMANDMENT

78
“You shall sanctify the holy day.”

79
Our word “holy day” or “holiday” is so called from the Hebrew word “Sabbath,”
which properly means to rest, that is, to cease from labor; hence our common
expression for “stopping work” literally means “observing a holy day or
holiday.”1 80 In the Old Testament God set apart the seventh day and appointed
it for rest and he commanded it to be kept holy above all other days.2 As far
as outward observance is concerned, the commandment was given to the Jews
alone. They were to abstain from hard work and to rest, so that both man and
beast might be refreshed and not be exhausted by constant labor. 81 In time,
however, the Jews interpreted this commandment too narrowly and grossly misused
it. They slandered Christ and would not permit him to do what they themselves
were in the habit of doing on that day, as we read in the Gospel3 — as if the
commandment could be fulfilled by refraining

from
manual labor of any kind. This was not its intention, but, as we shall hear, it
meant that we should sanctify the holy day or day of rest.

82
Therefore, according to its literal, outward sense, this commandment does not
concern us Christians. It is an entirely external matter, like the other
ordinances of the Old Testament connected with particular customs, persons,
times, and places,4 from all of which we are now set free through Christ.5

83
To offer ordinary people a Christian interpretation of what God requires in
this commandment, we point out that we keep holy days not for the sake of
intelligent and well informed Christians, for these have no need of them. We
keep them, first, for the sake of bodily need. Nature teaches and demands that
the common people — man-servants and maid-servants who have attended to their
work and trades the whole week long — should retire for a day to rest and be
refreshed. (tr-605) 84 Secondly and most especially, we keep holy days so that
people may have time and opportunity, which otherwise would not be available,
to participate in public worship, that is, that they may assemble to hear and
discuss God’s Word and then praise God with song and prayer.

85
This, I say, is not restricted to a particular time, as it was among the Jews,
when it had to be precisely this or that day, for in itself no one day is
better than another. Actually, there should be worship daily; however, since
this is more than the common people can do, at least one day in the week must
be set apart for it. Since from ancient times Sunday has been appointed for
this purpose, we should not change it. In this way a common order will prevail
and no one will create disorder by unnecessary innovation.

86
This, then, is the plain meaning of this commandment: Since we observe holidays
anyhow, we should devote their observance to learning God’s Word. The special
office of this day, therefore, should be the ministry of the Word for the sake
of the young and the poor common people. However, the observance of rest should
not be so narrow as to forbid incidental and unavoidable work.

87
Accordingly, when you are asked what “You shall sanctify the holy day” means,
answer: “It means to keep it holy.” What is meant by “keeping it holy”? Nothing
else than to devote it to holy words, holy works, holy life. In itself the day
needs no sanctification, for it was created holy. But God wants it to be holy
to you. So it becomes holy or unholy on your account, according as you spend
the day in doing holy or unholy things.

88
How does this sanctifying take place? Not when we sit behind the stove and
refrain from external work, or deck ourselves with garlands and dress up in our
best clothes, but, as has been said, when we occupy ourselves with God’s Word
and exercise ourselves in it.

89
Indeed, we Christians should make every day a holy day and give ourselves only
to holy activities — that is, occupy ourselves daily with God’s Word and carry
it in our hearts and on our lips. However, as we have said, since all people do
not have this much time and leisure, we must set apart several hours a week for
the young, and at least a day for the whole community, when we can concentrate
upon such matters and deal especially with the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and
the Lord’s Prayer. Thus we may regulate our whole life and being according to
God’s Word. 90 Wherever this practice is in force, a holy day is truly kept.
(tr-607) Where it is not, it cannot be called a Christian holy day.
Non-Christians can spend a day in rest and idleness, too, and so can the whole
swarm of clerics in our day who stand daily in the churches, singing and
ringing bells, without sanctifying the holy day because they neither preach nor
practice God’s Word but teach and live contrary to it.

91
The Word of God is the true holy thing6 above all holy things. Indeed, it is
the only one we Christians acknowledge and have. Though we had the bones of all
the saints or all the holy and consecrated vestments gathered together in one
heap, they could not help us in the slightest degree, for they are all dead
things that can sanctify no one. But God’s Word is the treasure that sanctifies
all

things.
By it all the saints themselves have been sanctified. 92 At whatever time God’s
Word is taught, preached, heard, read, or pondered, there the person, the day,
and the work are sanctified by it, not on account of the external work but on
account of the Word which makes us all saints. Accordingly, I constantly repeat
that all our life and work must be guided by God’s Word if they are to be
God-pleasing or holy. Where that happens the commandment is in force and is
fulfilled.

93
Conversely, any conduct or work done apart from God’s Word is unholy in the
sight of God, no matter how splendid and brilliant it may appear, or even if it
be altogether covered with holy relics, as are the so-called spiritual estates7
who do not know God’s Word but seek holiness in their own works. 94 Note, then,
that the power and force of this commandment consist not of the resting but of
the sanctifying, so that this day should have its own particular holy work.
Other trades and occupations are not properly called holy work unless the doer
himself is first holy. But here a work must be performed by which the doer
himself is made holy; this, as we have heard, takes place only through God’s
Word. Places, times, persons, and the entire outward order of worship are
therefore instituted and appointed in order that God’s Word may exert its power
publicly.

95
Since so much depends on God’s Word that no holy day is sanctified without it,
we must realize that God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment
and will punish all who despise his Word and refuse to hear and learn it,
especially at the times appointed.

96
Therefore this commandment is violated not only by those who grossly misuse and
desecrate the holy day, like those who in their greed or frivolity neglect to
hear God’s Word or lie around in taverns dead drunk like swine, but also by
that multitude of others (tr-609) who listen to God’s Word as they would to any
other entertainment, who only from force of habit go to hear preaching and
depart again with as little knowledge of the Word at the end of the year as at
the beginning. 97 It used to be thought that Sunday had been properly hallowed
if one heard a Mass or the reading of the Gospel; no one asked about God’s
Word, and no one taught it either. Now that we have God’s Word, we still fail
to remove the abuse of the holy day, for we permit ourselves to be preached to
and admonished but we listen without serious concern.

98
Remember, then, that you must be concerned not only about hearing the Word but
also about learning and retaining it. Do not regard it as an optional or
unimportant matter. It is the commandment of God, and he will require of you an
accounting of how you have heard and learned and honored his Word.

99
In the same way those conceited fellows should be chastised who, after hearing
a sermon or two, become sick and tired of it and feel that they know it all and
need no more instruction. This is precisely the sin that used to be classed
among the mortal sins and was called acidia8 — that is, indolence or satiety —
a malignant, pernicious plague with which the devil bewitches and befuddles the
hearts of many so that he may take us by surprise and stealthily take the Word
of God away from us.

100
Let me tell you this. Even though you know the Word perfectly and have already
mastered everything, still you are daily under the dominion of the devil, who
neither day nor night relaxes his effort to steal upon you unawares and to
kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against all these
commandments. Therefore you must continually keep God’s Word in your heart, on
your lips, and in your ears. For where the heart stands idle and the Word is
not heard, the devil breaks in and does his damage before we realize it. 101 On
the other hand, when we seriously ponder the Word, hear it, and put it to use,
such is its power that it never departs without fruit. It always awakens new
understanding, new pleasure, and a new spirit of devotion, and it constantly
cleanses the heart and its meditations. For these words are not idle or dead,
but effective and living. 102 Even if no other interest or need drove us to the
Word, yet everyone should be spurred on by the realization that in this way the

devil
is cast out and put to flight, this commandment is fulfilled, and God is more
pleased than by any ork of hypocrisy, however brilliant.

THE
FOURTH COMMANDMENT

(tr-611)
103 Thus far we have learned the first three commandments, which are directed
toward God. First, we should trust, fear, and love him with our whole heart all
the days of our lives. Secondly, we should not misuse his holy name in support
of lies or any evil purpose whatsoever, but use it for the praise of God and
the benefit and salvation of our neighbor and ourselves. Thirdly, on holy days
or days of rest we should diligently devote ourselves to God’s Word so that all
our conduct and life may be regulated by it. Now follow the other seven, which
relate to our neighbor. Among these the first and greatest is:

104
“You shall honor your father and mother.

105
To fatherhood and motherhood God has given the special distinction, above all
estates that are beneath it, that he commands us not simply to love our parents
but also to honor them. With respect to brothers, sisters, and neighbors in
general he commands nothing higher than that we love them. Thus he distinguishes
father and mother above all other persons on earth, and places them next to
himself. 106 For it is a much greater thing to honor than to love. Honor
includes not only love but also deference, humility, and modesty, directed (so
to speak) toward a majesty hidden within them. 107 It requires us not only to
address them affectionately and reverently, but above all to show by our
actions, both of heart and of body, that we respect them very highly and that
next to God we give them the very highest place. For anyone whom we are
whole-heartedly to honor, we must truly regard as high and great.

108
Young people must therefore be taught to revere their parents as God’s
representatives, and to remember that, however lowly, poor, feeble, and
eccentric they may be, they are their own father and mother, given them by God.
They are not to be deprived of their honor because of their ways or their
failings. Therefore, we are not to think of their persons, whatever they are,
but of the will of God, who has created and ordained them to be our parents. In
other respects, indeed, we are all equal in the sight of God, but among
ourselves there must be this sort of inequality and proper distinctions. God
therefore commands you to be careful to obey me as your father and to
acknowledge my authority.

109
First, then, learn what this commandment requires concerning honor to parents.
You are to esteem and prize them as the most precious treasure on earth. 110 In
your words you are to behave respectfully toward them, and not address them
discourteously, critically, and (tr-613) censoriously, but submit to them and
hold your tongue, even if they go too far. 111 You are also to honor them by
your actions (that is, with your body and possessions), serving them, helping
them, and caring for them when they are old, sick, feeble, or poor; all this
you should do not only cheerfully, but with humility and reverence, as in God’s
sight. He who has the right attitude toward his parents will not allow them to
suffer want or hunger, but will place them above himself and at his side and
will share with them all he has to the best of his ability.

112
In the second place, notice what a great, good, and holy work is here assigned
to children. Alas, it is utterly despised and brushed aside, and no one
recognizes it as God’s command or as a holy, divine word and precept. For if we
had regarded it as such, it would have been apparent to all that they who lived
according to these words must also be holy men. Then there would have been no
need to institute monasticism or “spiritual estates.” Every child would have
remained faithful to this commandment and would have been able to set his
conscience right toward God, saying: “If I am to do good and holy works, I know
of none better than to show all honor and obedience to my parents, since God
himself has commanded it. 113 What God commands must be much nobler than
anything we

ourselves
may devise. And because there is no greater or better teacher to be found than
God, there can also be no better teaching than his. Now, he amply teaches what
we should do if we wish to perform truly good works, and by commanding them he
shows that he is well pleased with them. So, if this is God’s command, and it
embodies his highest wisdom, then I shall never improve upon it.”

114
In this way, you see, we should have had godly children, properly taught, and
reared in true blessedness; they would have remained at home in obedience and
service to their parents, and we should have had an object lesson in goodness
and happiness. However, men did not feel obliged to set forth God’s commandment
in its full glory. They were able to ignore it and skip lightly over it, and so
children could not lay it to heart; they simply gaped in astonishment at all
the arrangements we have devised without ever asking God’s approval. 115 For
the love of God, therefore, let us at last teach our young people to banish all
other things from sight and give first place to this commandment. If they wish
to serve God with truly good works, they must do what is pleasing to their
fathers and mothers, or to those who have parental authority over them. Every
child who knows and does this has, in the first place, the great comfort of
being able joyfully to boast in the face of all who are occupied with works of
their own choice: “See, this (tr-615) work is well pleasing to my God in
heaven; this I know for certain.” 116 Let them all come forward and boast of
their many great, laborious, and difficult works; we shall see whether they can
produce a single work that is greater and nobler than obedience to father and
mother, which God has appointed and commanded next to obedience to his own
majesty. If God’s Word and will are placed first and observed, nothing ought to
be considered more important than the will and word of our parents, provided
that these, too, are subordinated to obedience toward God and are not set into
opposition to the preceding commandments.

117
You should rejoice heartily and thank God that he has chosen and fitted you to
perform a task so precious and pleasing to him. Even though it seems very
trivial and contemptible, make sure that you regard it as great and precious,
not on account of your worthiness but because it has its place within that
jewel and holy treasure, the Word and commandment of God. 118 O how great a
price all the Carthusian monks and nuns9 would pay if in the exercise of their
religion they could bring before God a single work done in accordance with his
commandment and could say with a joyful heart in his presence, “Now I know that
this work is well pleasing to Thee!” What will become of these poor wretched
people when, standing before God and the whole world, they shall blush with
shame before a little child that has lived according to this commandment and
confess that with the merits of their whole lives they are not worthy to offer
him a cup of water? 119 It serves them right for their devilish perversity in
trampling God’s commandment under foot that they must torture themselves in
vain with their self-devised works1 and meanwhile have only scorn and trouble
for their reward.

120
Should not the heart leap and melt with joy when it can go to work and do what
is commanded, saying, “Lo, this is better than the holiness of all the
Carthusians, even though they kill themselves with fasting and pray on their
knees without ceasing”? Hence you have a sure text and a divine testimony that
God has commanded this; concerning the other things he has commanded not a
word. This is the plight and the miserable blindness of the world that no one
believes this; so thoroughly has the devil bewitched us with the false holiness
and glamor of our own works.

121
Therefore, I repeat, I should be very glad if we were to open our eyes and ears
and take this to heart so that we may not again be led astray from the pure
Word of God to the lying vanities of the devil. Then all would be well; parents
would have more happiness, love, kindness, and harmony in their houses, and
children would win their parents’ hearts completely. 122 On the other hand,
when they are obstinate and never do their duty until a rod is laid on their
backs, they anger both God and (tr-617) their parents. Thus they deprive
themselves of this treasure and joy of conscience and lay up for

themselves
nothing but misfortune. 123 That is the way things go in the world now, as
everyone complains. But young and old are altogether wayward and unruly; they
have no sense of modesty or honor; they do nothing until they are driven with
blows; and they defame and depreciate one another behind their backs in any way
they can. God therefore punishes them so that they sink into all kinds of
trouble and misery. 124 Neither can parents, as a rule, do very much; one fool
trains another, and as they have lived, so live their children after them.

125
This, I say, should be the first and strongest reason impelling us to keep this
commandment. If we had no father and mother, we should wish, on account of the
commandments, that God would set up a block or a stone which we might call
father and mother. How much more, when he has given us living parents, should
we be happy to show them honor and obedience. For we know that it is highly
pleasing to the divine Majesty and all the angels, that it vexes all devils,
and, besides, that it is the greatest work that we can do, next to the sublime
worship of God described in the previous commandments. 126 Even almsgiving and
all other works for our neighbor are not equal to this. For God has exalted
this estate of parents above all others; indeed, he has appointed it to be his
representative on earth. This will and pleasure of God ought to provide us
sufficient reason and incentive to do cheerfully and gladly whatever we can.

127
Besides this, it is our duty before the world to show gratitude for the
kindness and for all the good things we have received from our parents. 128 But
here again the devil rules in the world; children forget their parents, as we
all forget God, and no one takes thought how God feeds, guards, and protects us
and how many blessings of body and soul he bestows upon us. Especially when an
evil hour comes do we rage and grumble impatiently and forget all the blessings
we have received throughout our life. Just so we act toward our parents, and
there is no child that recognizes and considers this, unless he is led to it by
the Holy Spirit.

129
The perversity of the world God knows very well. By means of commandments,
therefore, he reminds and impels everyone to consider what his parents have
done for him. Then everybody recognizes that he has received his body and life
from them and that he has been nourished and nurtured by them when otherwise he
would have perished (tr-619) a hundred times in his own filth. 130 The wise men
of old were right when they said, “God, parents, and teachers can never be
sufficiently thanked and repaid.”2 He who views the matter in this light will,
without compulsion, give all honor to his parents and esteem them as those
through whom God has given him all blessings.

131
Over and above all this, another strong incentive for us to keep this
commandment is that God has attached to it a lovely promise, “That you may have
long life in the land where you dwell.” 132 Here you see how important God
considers this commandment. He declares that it is not only an object of
pleasure and delight to himself, but also an instrument intended for our
greatest welfare, to lead us to a quiet, pleasant, and blessed life. 133 St.
Paul also highly exalts and praises this commandment, saying in Eph. 6:2, 3,
“This is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you and
that you may live long on the earth.” Although the other commandments also have
a promise implied, yet in none is it so plainly and explicitly stated.

134
This, then, is the fruit and the reward, that whoever keeps this commandment
will enjoy good days, happiness, and prosperity. On the other hand, the penalty
for him who disobeys it is that he will perish sooner and never be happy in
life. For, in the Scriptures, to have long life means not merely to grow old
but to have everything that pertains to long life — health, wife and child,
livelihood, peace, good government, etc., without which this life can neither
be heartily enjoyed nor long endure. 135 If you are unwilling to obey father
and mother or to submit to them, then obey the hangman; and if you will not
obey him, then obey the grim reaper,3 Death! 136 This, in short, is the way God
will have it:

render
him obedience and love and service, and he will reward you abundantly with
every blessing; on the other hand, if you provoke him to anger, he will send
upon you both death and the hangman. 137 Why do we have so many criminals who
must daily be hanged, beheaded, or broken on the wheel if not because of
disobedience? They will not allow themselves to be brought up in kindness;
consequently, by the punishment of God they bring upon themselves the
misfortune and grief that we behold, for it seldom happens that such wicked
people die a natural and timely death.

(tr-621)
The godly and the obedient, however, are blessed. They live long in peace and
quietness. They see their children’s children, as we said above, “to the third
and fourth generation.” 138 Again, as we know from experience, where there are
fine old families who prosper and have many children, it is certainly because
some of them were brought up well and revered their parents. On the other hand,
it is written of the wicked in Ps. 109:13, “May his posterity be cut off: and
may their name be cut off in one generation.” 139 Learn well, then, how
important God considers obedience, since he so highly exalts it, so greatly
delights in it, so richly rewards it, and besides is so strict about punishing
those who transgress it.

140
All this I say that it may be thoroughly impressed upon the young people, for
no one will believe how necessary is this commandment, which in the past was
neither heeded nor taught under the papacy. These are plain and simple words,
and everyone thinks he already knows them well. So he passes over them lightly,
fastens his attention on other things, and fails to perceive and believe how
angry he makes God when he neglects this commandment, and how precious and
acceptable a work he does when he observes it.

141
In connection with this commandment there is more to be said about the various
kinds of obedience due to our superiors, persons whose duty it is to command
and to govern. Out of the authority of parents all other authority is derived
and developed. Where a father is unable by himself to bring up his child, he
calls upon a schoolmaster to teach him; if he is too weak, he enlists the help
of his friends and neighbors; if he passes away, he confers and delegates his
authority and responsibility to others appointed for the purpose. 142 Likewise
he must have domestics (man-servants and maid-servants) under him to manage his
household. Thus all who are called masters stand in the place of parents and
derive from them their power and authority to govern. In the Scriptures they
are all called fathers because in their responsibility they act in the capacity
of fathers and ought to have fatherly hearts toward their people. So from
ancient times the Romans and other peoples called the masters and mistresses of
the household patres et matres familias (that is, house-fathers and
house-mothers). Again, their princes and overlords were called patres patriae4
(that is, fathers of the country) to the great shame of us would-be Christians
who do not speak of our rulers in the same way, or at least do not treat and
honor them as such.

143
What a child owes to father and mother, the entire household owes them
likewise. Therefore man-servants and (tr-623) maid-servants should take care
not only to obey their masters and mistresses, but also to honor them as their
own parents and do everything that they know is expected of them, not from
compulsion and reluctantly but gladly and cheerfully; and they should do it for
the reason just mentioned, that it is God’s commandment and is more pleasing to
him than all other works. 144 They ought even to be willing to pay for the
privilege of service and be glad to acquire masters and mistresses in order to
have such joyful consciences and know how to do truly golden works. These works
in the past have been neglected and despised; instead, everybody ran in the
devil’s name into monasteries, on pilgrimages, and after indulgences, to their
own hurt and with a bad conscience.

145
If this truth could be impressed upon the poor people, a servant girl would
dance for joy and praise and thank God; and with her careful work, for which
she receives sustenance and wages, she would gain a treasure such as all who
pass for the greatest saints do not have. Is it not a wonderful

thing
to be able to boast to yourself, “If I do my daily housework faithfully, that
is better than the holiness and austere life of all the monks”? 146 You have
the promise, moreover, that you will prosper and fare well in everything. How
can you lead a more blessed or holy life, as far as your works are concerned?
147 In the sight of God it is really faith that makes a person holy; faith
alone serves him, while our works serve the people. 148 Here you have
everything that is good — shelter and protection in the Lord and, what is more,
a joyful conscience and a gracious God who will reward you a hundredfold. You
are a true nobleman if you are upright and obedient. If you are not, you will
have nothing but the wrath and displeasure of God; there will be no peace in
your heart, and eventually you will have all kinds of trouble and misfortune.

149
Whoever will not be moved by this, and who will not be inclined to godliness,
we deliver to the hangman and the grim reaper. Therefore, let everyone who can
take advice remember that God is not to be taken lightly. God speaks to you and
demands obedience. If you obey him you are his dear child; if you despise this
commandment, then take shame, misery, and grief for your reward.

150
The same may be said of obedience to the civil government, which, as we have
said, is to be classed with the estate of fatherhood, the most comprehensive of
all relations. In this case a man is father not of a single family, but of as
many people as he has inhabitants, citizens, or subjects. Through civil rulers,
as through our own parents, God gives us food, house and (tr-625) home,
protection and security. Therefore, since they bear this name and title with
all honor as their chief glory, it is our duty to honor and magnify them as the
most precious treasure and jewel on earth.

151
He who is obedient, willing, ready to serve, and cheerfully gives honor where
it is due, knows that he pleases God and receives joy and happiness for his
reward. On the other hand, if he will not do so in love, but despises or
rebelliously resists authority, let him know that he shall have no favor or
blessing from God. Where he counts on gaining a gulden5 by his unfaithfulness,
he will lose ten elsewhere. Or he will fall victim to the hangman, or perish
through war, pestilence, or famine, or his children will turn out badly;
servants, neighbors, or strangers and tyrants will inflict injury, injustice,
and violence upon him. What we seek and deserve, then, is paid back to us in
retaliation.

152
If we ever let ourselves be persuaded that works of obedience are so pleasing
to God and have so rich a reward, we shall be simply overwhelmed with our
blessings and we shall have all that our hearts desire. But God’s Word and
commandment are despised, as if they came from some loutish peddler. Let us
see, though, whether you are the man to defy him. How difficult do you think it
will be for him to pay you back? 153 You will live much better with God’s
favor, peace, and blessing than you will with disfavor and misfortune. 154 Why,
do you think, is the world now so full of unfaithfulness, shame, misery, and murder?
It is because everyone wishes to be his own master, be free from all authority,
care nothing for anyone, and do whatever he pleases. So God punishes one knave
by means of another. When you defraud or despise your master, another person
comes along and treats you likewise. Indeed, in your own household you must
suffer ten times as much wrong from your own wife, children, or servants.

155
Of course, we keenly feel our misfortune, and we grumble and complain of
unfaithfulness, violence, and injustice; but we are unwilling to see that we
ourselves are knaves who have roundly deserved punishment and that we are not
one bit improved by it. We spurn favor and happiness; therefore, it is only
fair that we have nothing but unhappiness without mercy. 156 Somewhere on earth
there must still be some godly people, or else God would not grant us so many
blessings! If it depended on our merits, we would not have a penny6 in the
house or a straw in the field. 157 All this I have been obliged to set forth
with such a profusion of words in the hope that someone (tr-627) may take it to
heart, so that we may be delivered from the blindness and misery in which we
are so deeply sunk

and
may rightly understand the Word and will of God and sincerely accept it. From
God’s Word we could learn how to obtain an abundance of joy, happiness, and
salvation, both here and in eternity.

158
Thus we have three kinds of fathers presented in this commandment: fathers by
blood, fathers of a household, and fathers of the nation. Besides these, there
are also spiritual fathers — not like those in the papacy who applied this
title to themselves but performed no fatherly office. For the name spiritual
father belongs only to those who govern and guide us by the Word of God. 159
St. Paul boasts that he is a father in 1 Cor. 4:15, where he says, “I became
your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” 160 Since such person are
fathers, they are entitled to honor, even above all others. But they very
seldom receive it, for the world’s way of honoring them is to harry them out of
the country and grudge them as much as a piece of bread. In short, as St. Paul
says, they must be “the refuse of the world, and every man’s offscouring.”7

161
Yet there is need to impress upon the common people that they who would bear
the name of Christians owe it to God to show “double honor”8 to those who watch
over their souls and to treat them well and make provision for them. God will
adequately recompense those who do so and will not let them suffer want. 162
But here everybody resists and rebels; all are afraid that their bellies will
suffer, and therefore they cannot now support one good preacher although in the
past they filled ten fat paunches. 163 For this we deserve to have God deprive
us of his Word and his blessings and once again allow preachers of lies9 to
arise and lead us to the devil — and wring sweat and blood out of us besides.

164
Those who keep their eyes on God’s will and commandment, however, have the
promise that they will be richly rewarded for all they contribute to their
temporal and spiritual fathers, and for the honor they render them. Not only
shall they have bread, clothing, and money for a year or two, but long life,
sustenance, and peace, and afterwards abundance and blessedness forever. 165 Do
your duty, then, and leave it to God how he will support you and provide for
all your wants. Since he has promised it, and has never yet lied, he will not
lie to you either.

166
This ought to encourage us and make our hearts so melt for joy and love toward
those to whom we owe honor that we lift our hands in joyful (tr-629) thanks to
God for giving us such promises. We ought to be willing to run to the ends of
the world to obtain them. For the combined efforts of the whole world cannot
add an hour to our life or raise from the earth a single grain of wheat for us.
But God can and will give you everything abundantly, according to your heart’s
desire. He who despises and disdains this is not worthy to hear a word from
God.

More
than enough has now been said to those to whom this commandment applies.

167
In addition, it would be well to preach to parents on the nature of their
office, how they should treat those committed to their authority. Although the
duty of superiors is not explicitly stated in the Ten Commandments, it is
frequently dealt with in many other passages of Scripture, and God intends it
to be included in this commandment in which he speaks of father and mother. 168
God does not want to have knaves or tyrants in this office and responsibility;
nor does he assign them this honor (that is, power and authority to govern)
merely to receive homage. Parents should consider that they owe obedience to
God, and that, above all, they should earnestly and faithfully discharge the
duties of their office, not only to provide for the material support of their
children, servants, subjects, etc., but especially to bring them up to the
praise and honor of God. 169 Therefore do not imagine that the parental office
is a matter of your pleasure and whim. It is a strict commandment and
injunction of God, who holds you accountable for it.

170
The trouble is that no one perceives or heeds this. Everybody acts as if God
gave us children for our pleasure and amusement, gave us servants merely to put
them to work like cows or asses, and gave us subjects to treat them as we
please, as if it were no concern of ours what they learn or how they live.

171
No one is willing to see that this is the command of the divine Majesty, who
will solemnly call us to account and punish us for its neglect, nor is it
recognized how very necessary it is to devote serious attention to the young.
172 If we want qualified and capable men for both civil and spiritual
leadership, we must spare no effort, time, and expense in teaching and
educating our children to serve God and mankind. We must not think only of
amassing money and property for them. 173 God can provide for them and make
them rich without our help, as indeed he does daily. But he has given and
entrusted children to us with the command that we train and govern them
according to his will; otherwise God would have no need of father and mother.
174 Therefore let everybody know that it is his chief duty, on pain of losing
divine grace, to bring up his children in the fear and knowledge of (tr-631)
God, and if they are gifted to give them opportunity to learn and study so that
they may be of service wherever they are needed.

175
If this were done, God would richly bless us and give us grace so that men
might be trained who would be a benefit to the nation and the people. We would
also have soundly instructed citizens, virtuous and home-loving wives who would
faithfully bring up their children and servants to be godly. 176 Think what
deadly harm you do when you are negligent in this respect and fail to bring up
your children to usefulness and piety. You bring upon yourself sin and wrath,
thus earning hell by the way you have reared your own children, no matter how
devout and holy you may be in other respects. 177 Because this commandment is
disregarded, God terribly punishes the world; hence there is no longer any
civil order, peace, or respect for authority. We all complain about this state
of things, but we do not see that it is our own fault. Because of the way we
train them, we have unruly and disobedient subjects.

178
This is enough to serve as a warning; a more extensive explanation will have to
await another ccasion.

THE
FIFTH COMMANDMENT

179
“You shall not kill.”

180
We have now dealt with both the spiritual and the civil government, that is,
divine and paternal authority and obedience. In this commandment we leave our
own house and go out among our neighbors to learn how we should conduct
ourselves individually toward our fellow men. Therefore neither God nor the
government is included in this commandment, yet their right to take human life
is not abrogated. 181 God has delegated his authority of punishing evil-doers
to civil magistrates in place of parents; in early times, as we read in Moses,2
parents had to bring their own children to judgment and sentence them to death.
Therefore what is forbidden here applies to private individuals, not to
governments.

182
This commandment is simple enough. We hear it explained every year in the
Gospel, Matthew 5, 3 where Christ himself explains and summarizes it: We must
not kill, either by hand, heart, or word, by signs or gestures, or by aiding
and abetting. It forgives anger except, as we have said, to persons who occupy
the place of God, that is, parents and rulers. Anger, reproof, and punishment
are the prerogatives of God and his representatives, and they are to be
exercised upon those who transgress this and the other commandments.

183
The occasion and need for this commandment is that, as God well knows, the
world (tr-633) is evil and this life is full of misery. He has therefore placed
this and the other commandments as a boundary between good and evil. There are
many offenses against this commandment, as there are against all the others. We
must live among many people who do us harm, and so we have reason to be at
enmity with

them.
184 For instance, a neighbor, envious that you have received from God a better
house and estate or greater wealth and good fortune than he, gives vent to his
irritation and envy by speaking ill of you.

Thus
by the devil’s prompting you acquire many enemies who begrudge you even the
least good, whether physical or spiritual. When we see such people, our hearts
in turn rage and we are ready to shed blood and take revenge. Then follow
cursing and blows, and eventually calamity and murder. 185 Here God, like a
kind father, steps in and intervenes to get the quarrel settled for the safety
of all concerned. Briefly, he wishes to have all people defended, delivered,
and protected from the wickedness and violence of others, and he has set up
this commandment as a wall, fortress, and refuge about our neighbor so that no
one may do him bodily harm or injury.

186
What this commandment teaches, then, is that no one should harm another for any
evil deed, no matter how much he deserves it. Not only is murder forbidden, but
also everything that may lead to murder. Many persons, though they may not
actually commit murder, nevertheless call down curses and imprecations upon
their enemy’s head, which, if they came true, would soon put an end to him. 187
This spirit or revenge clings to every one of us, and it is common knowledge
that no one willingly suffers injury from another. Therefore God wishes to
remove the root and source of this bitterness toward our neighbor. He wants us
to keep this commandment ever before our eyes as a mirror in which to see
ourselves, so that we may be attentive to his will and with hearty confidence
and prayer commit to him whatever wrong we suffer. Then we shall be content to
let our enemies rave and rage and do their worst. Thus we may learn to calm our
anger and have a patient, gentle heart, especially toward those who have given
us occasion for anger, namely, our enemies.

188
Briefly, then, to impress it unmistakably upon the common people, the import of
the commandment against killing is this: In the first place, we should not harm
anyone. This means, first, by hand or by deed; next, we should not use our
tongue to advocate or advise harming anyone; again, (tr-635) we should neither
use nor sanction any means or methods whereby anyone may be harmed; finally,
our heart should harbor no hostility or malice toward anyone in a spirit of
anger and hatred. Thus you should be blameless toward all people in body and
soul, especially toward him who wishes or does you evil. For to do evil to
somebody who desires and does you good is not human but devilish.

189
In the second place, this commandment is violated not only when a person
actually does evil, but also when he fails to do good to his neighbor, or,
though he has the opportunity, fails to prevent, protect, and save him from
suffering bodily harm or injury. 190 If you send a person away naked when you
could clothe him, you have let him freeze to death. If you see anyone suffer
hunger and do not feed him, you have let him starve. Likewise, if you see
anyone condemned4 to death or in similar peril and do not save him although you
know ways and means to do so, you have killed him. It will do you no good to
plead that you did not contribute to his death by word or deed, for you have
withheld your love from him and robbed him of the service by which his life
might have been saved.

191
Therefore God rightly calls all persons murderers who do not offer counsel and
aid to men in need and in peril of body and life. He will pass a most terrible
sentence upon them in the day of judgment, as Christ himself declares. He will
say: “I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me no food or drink, I was a
stranger, and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I
was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”5 That is to say, “You would
have permitted me and my followers to die of hunger, thirst, and cold, to be
torn to pieces by wild beasts, to rot in prison or perish from want.”

192
What else is this but to reproach such persons as murderers and bloodhounds?
For although you have not actually committed all these crimes, as far as you
were concerned you have nevertheless permitted your neighbor to languish and
perish in his misfortune.

It
is just as if I saw someone wearily struggling in deep water, or fallen into a
fire, and could extend him my hand to pull him out and save him, and yet I did
not do it. How would I appear before all the world in any other light than as a
murderer and a scoundrel?

193
Therefore it is God’s real intention that we should allow no man to suffer
harm, but show to everyone all kindness and love. 194 And this kindness is
directed, as I said, especially toward our enemies. To show kindness to our
friends is but an ordinary heathen virtue, as Christ says in Matthew 5:46, 47.

(tr-637)
195 Here again we have God’s Word by which he wants to encourage and urge us to
true, noble, exalted deeds, such as gentleness, patience, and, in short, love
and kindness toward our enemies. He always wants to remind us to think back to
the First Commandment, that he is our God; that is, he wishes to help and
protect us, so that he may subdue our desire for revenge.

196
If this could be thoroughly impressed on people’s minds, we would have our
hands full of good works to do. 197 But this would be no preaching for monks.
It would too greatly undermine the “spiritual estate” and infringe upon the
holiness of the Carthusians. It would be practically the same as forbidding
their good works and emptying the monasteries. For in this teaching the
ordinary Christian life would be considered just as acceptable, and even more
so. Everybody would see how the monks mock and mislead the world with a false, hypocritical
show of holiness, while they have thrown this and the other commandments to the
winds, regarding them as unnecessary, as if they were not commandments but mere
counsels.6 Moreover, they have shamelessly boasted and bragged of their
hypocritical calling and works as “the most perfect life,” so that they might
live a nice, soft life without the cross and suffering. This is why they fled
to the monasteries, so that they might not have to suffer wrong from anyone or
do anyone any good. 198 Know, however, that it is the works commanded by God’s
Word which are the true, holy, and divine works in which he rejoices with all
the angels. In contrast to them all human holiness is only stench and filth,
and it merits nothing but wrath and amnation.

THE
SIXTH COMMANDMENT

199
“You shall not commit adultery.”

200
The following commandments are easily understood from the preceding one. They
all teach us to guard against harming our neighbor in any way. They are
admirably arranged. First they deal with our neighbor’s person. Then they
proceed to the person nearest and dearest to him, namely, his wife, who is one
flesh and blood with him.7 In no possession of his can we inflict a greater
injury upon him. Therefore, it is explicitly forbidden here to dishonor his wife.
201 Adultery is particularly mentioned because among the Jewish people marriage
was obligatory. Youths were married at the earliest age possible. The state of
virginity was not commended, neither were public prostitution and lewdness
tolerated as they are now. Accordingly adultery was the most common form of
unchastity among them.

(tr-639)
202 Inasmuch as there is a shameful mess and cesspool of all kinds of vice and
lewdness among us, this commandment applies to every form of unchastity,
however it is called. Not only is the external act forbidden, but also every
kind of cause, motive, and means. Your heart, your lips, and your whole body
are to be chaste and to afford no occasion, aid, or encouragement to
unchastity. 203 Moreover, you are to defend, protect, and rescue your neighbor
whenever he is in danger or need, and on the contrary to aid and assist him so
that he may retain his honor. 204 Whenever you fail to do this (though you
could prevent a wrong) or wink at it as if it were no concern of yours, you are
just as guilty as the culprit himself. 205 In short, everyone is required both
to live chastely himself and to help

his
neighbor do the same. Thus God by his commandment wants every husband or wife
guarded and protected from any trespass.

206
Inasmuch as this commandment is concerned specifically with the estate of
marriage and gives occasion to speak of it, let us carefully note, first, how
highly God honors and glorifies the married life, sanctioning and protecting it
by his commandment. He sanctioned it above in the fourth commandment, “You
shall honor father and mother”; but here, as I said, he has secured it and
protected it. 207 Therefore he also wishes us to honor, maintain, and cherish
it as a divine and blessed estate. Significantly he established it as the first
of all institutions, and he created man and woman differently (as is evident)
not for lewdness but to be true to each other, be fruitful, beget children, and
support and bring them up to the glory of God.

208
God has therefore most richly blessed this estate above all others and, in
addition, has supplied and endowed it with everything in the world in order
that this estate might be provided for richly and adequately. Married life is
no matter for jest or idle curiosity, but it is a glorious institution and an
object of God’s serious concern. For it is of the highest importance to him
that persons be brought up to serve the world, promote knowledge of God, godly
living, and all virtues, and fight against wickedness and the devil.

209
Therefore I have always taught that we should not despise or disdain marriage,
as the blind world and the false clergy do, but view it in the light of God’s
Word, by which it is adorned and sanctified. It is not an estate to be placed
on a level with the others; it precedes and surpasses them all, (tr-641)
whether those of emperor, princes, bishops, or anyone else. Important as the
spiritual and civil estates are, these must humble themselves and allow all
people to enter the estate of marriage, as we shall hear. 210 It is not an
exceptional estate, but the most universal and the noblest, pervading all
Christendom and even extending throughout all the world.

211
In the second place, remember that it is not only an honorable estate but also
a necessary one, and it is solemnly commanded by God that in general men and
women in all conditions, who have been created for it, shall be found in this
estate. Yet there are some (although few) exceptions whom God has especially
exempted — some who are unsuited for married life and others whom he has
released by a high supernatural gift so that they can maintain chastity outside
of marriage. 212 Where nature has its way, as God implanted it, it is not
possible to remain chaste outside of marriage; for flesh and blood remain flesh
and blood, and the natural inclinations and stimulations have their way without
let or hindrance, as everyone’s observation and experience testify. Therefore,
to make it easier for man to avoid unchastity in some measure, God has
established marriage, so that everyone may have his allotted portion and be
satisfied with it — although here, too, God’s grace is still required to keep
the heart pure.

213
From this you see how the papal rabble, priests, monks, and nuns resist God’s
order and commandment when they despise and forbid marriage, and boast and vow
that they will maintain perpetual chastity while they deceive the common people
with lying words and wrong impressions. 214 For no one has so little love and
inclination for chastity as those who under the guise of great sanctity avoid
marriage and either indulge in open and shameless fornication or secretly do
even worse — things too evil to mention, as unfortunately has been only too
well proved. 215 In short, even though they abstain from the act, yet their
hearts remain so full of unchaste thoughts and evil desires that they suffer
incessant ragings of secret passion, which can be avoided in married life. 216
Therefore all vows of chastity apart from marriage are condemned and annulled
by this commandment; indeed, all poor, captive consciences deceived by their
monastic vows are even commanded to forsake their unchaste existence and enter
the married life. Even granting that the monastic life is godly, yet it is not
in their

power
to maintain chastity, and if they remain they will inevitably sin more and more
against this commandment.

217
I say these things in order that our young people may be led to acquire a love
for married life and know that it is a blessed and God-pleasing estate. Thus it
may in due time (tr-643) regain its proper honor, and there may be less of the
filthy, dissolute, disorderly conduct which now is so rampant everywhere in
public prostitution and other shameful vices resulting from contempt of married
life. 218 Therefore parents and magistrates have the duty of so supervising
youth that they will be brought up to decency and respect for authority and,
when they are grown, will be married honorably in the fear of God. Then God
will add his blessing and grace so that men may have joy and happiness in their
married life.

219
Let it be said in conclusion that this commandment requires everyone not only
to live chastely in thought, word, and deed in his particular situation (that
is, especially in the estate of marriage), but also to love and cherish the
wife or husband whom God has given. For marital chastity it is above all things
essential that husband and wife live together in love and harmony, cherishing
each other whole-heartedly and with perfect fidelity. This is one of the chief
ways to make chastity attractive and desirable. Under such conditions chastity
always follows spontaneously without any command. 220 This is why St. Paul so
urgently admonishes husbands and wives to love and honor each other.8 221 Here
you have another precious good work — indeed, many and great works — which you
can yfully set over against all “spiritual estates” that are chosen without
God’s Word and commandment.

THE
SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

222
“You shall not steal.”

223
Next to our own person and our spouse, our temporal property is dearest to us.
This, too, God wants to have protected. He has forbidden us to rob or pilfer
the possessions of our neighbor. 224 For to steal is nothing else than to
acquire another’s property by unjust means. In a few words, this includes
taking advantage of our neighbor in any sort of dealing that results in loss to
him. Stealing is a widespread, common vice, but people pay so little attention
to it that the matter is entirely out of hand. If all who are thieves, though
they are unwilling to admit it, were hanged on the gallows, the world would
soon be empty, and there would be a shortage of both hangmen and gallows. As I
have just said, a person steals not only when he robs a man’s strongbox or his pocket,
but also when he takes advantage of his neighbor at the market, in a grocery
shop, butcher stall, wine- and beer-cellar, work-shop, and, in short, wherever
business is transacted and money is exchanged for goods or labor.

225
Let us make it a little clearer for the common people so that we may see how
honest we are. Suppose, for example, that a man-servant or maid-servant is
unfaithful in his or her domestic duty and does damage or permits damage to
happen when it could have been avoided. Or (tr-645) suppose that through
laziness, carelessness, or malice a servant wastes and neglects things to the
vexation and annoyance of his master or mistress. When this is done
deliberately — for I am not speaking of what happens inadvertently and
unintentionally — a servant can cheat his employer out of thirty or forty
gulden or more a year. If a thief had taken such sums he would be strangled
with a noose, but the servant may even become defiant and insolent and dare
anyone to call him a thief!

226
The same must be said of artisans, workmen, and day-laborers who act
high-handedly and never know enough ways to overcharge people and yet are
careless and unreliable in their work. All these are far worse than
sneak-thieves, against whom we can guard with lock and bolt, or if we catch
them we can deal with them so that they will not repeat the offense. But
against the others no one can guard. No one even dares to give them a hard look
or accuse them of theft. One would ten times rather lose the

money
from one’s purse. For these are my neighbors, my good friends, my own servants,
from whom I expect good; but they are the first to defraud me. 227 Furthermore,
at the market and everyday business the same fraud prevails in full force. One
person openly cheats another with defective merchandise, false measures,
dishonest weights, and bad coins, and takes advantage of him by underhanded
tricks and sharp practices and crafty dealing. Or again, one swindles another
in a trade and deliberately fleeces, skins, and torments him. Who can even
describe or imagine it all? 228 In short, thievery is the most common craft and
the largest guild on earth. If we look at mankind in all its conditions, it is
nothing but a vast, wide stable full of great thieves.

229
These men are called gentlemen swindlers9 or big operators. Far from being
picklocks and sneak-thieves who loot a cash box, they sit in office chairs and
are called great lords and honorable, good citizens, and yet with a great show
of legality they rob and steal.

230
Yes, we might well keep quiet here about various petty thieves in order to
launch an attack against the great, powerful arch-thieves who consort with
lords and princes and daily plunder not only a city or two, but all Germany.
Indeed, what would become of the head and chief protector of all thieves, the
Holy See at Rome, and all its retinue, which has plundered and stolen the
treasures of the whole world and holds them to this day?

(tr-647)
231 This, in short, is the way of the world. Those who can steal and rob openly
are safe and free, unmolested by anyone, even claiming honor from men.
Meanwhile the little sneak-thieves who have committed one offense must bear
disgrace and punishment so as to make the others look respectable and
honorable. But the latter should be told that in the eyes of God they are the
greatest thieves, and that he will punish them as they deserve.

232
This commandment is very far-reaching, as we have shown. It is necessary,
therefore, to emphasize and explain it to the common people in order that they may
be restrained in their wantonness and that the wrath of God may be continually
and urgently kept before their eyes. For we must preach this not to Christians
but chiefly to knaves and scoundrels, though it might be more fitting if the
judge, the jailer, or the hangman did the preaching. 233 Let every one know,
then, that it is his duty, at the risk of God’s displeasure, not to harm his
neighbor, take advantage of him, or defraud him by any faithless or underhanded
business transaction. More than that, he is under obligation faithfully to
protect his neighbor’s property and further his interests, especially when he
takes remuneration for such services. 234 A person who willfully disregards
this commandment may indeed get by and escape the hangman, but he will not
escape God’s wrath and punishment. Though he pursues his defiant and arrogant
course for a long time, still he will remain a tramp and a beggar and will
suffer all kinds of troubles and misfortunes. 235 Now, you servants ought to
take care of your master’s or mistress’s property, which enables you to stuff
your craw and your belly. But you go your own way, take your wages like a
thief, and even expect to be revered like noblemen. Many of you are even
insolent toward masters and mistresses and unwilling to do them the favor and
service of protecting them from loss. 236 But see what you gain. When you come
into property yourself and have a house of your own — which God will let you
acquire to your undoing — there will come a day of reckoning and retribution:
for every penny you have taken and for every penny’s damage you have done you
will have to pay back thirty-fold.

237
So will it be with artisans and day-laborers, from whom we are obliged to
suffer such intolerable insolence. They act as if they were lords over others’
possessions and entitled to whatever they demand. 238 Just let them keep on
boldly fleecing people as long as they can. God will not forget his
commandment. He will pay them what they deserve. He will hang them not on a
green gallows but on a dry one. They will neither prosper (tr-649) nor gain
anything their whole life long.1 239 Of course, if

our
government were well regulated, such insolence might soon be checked. The
ancient Romans, for example, promptly took such offenders by the scruff of the
neck so that others took warning.

240
The same fate will overtake those who turn the free public market into a
carrion-pit and a robbers’ den. Daily the poor are defrauded. New burdens and
high prices are imposed. Everyone misuses the market in his own willful,
conceited, arrogant way, as if it were his right and privilege to sell his
goods as dearly as he pleases without a word of criticism. 241 We shall stand
by and let such persons fleece, grab, and hoard. 242 But we shall trust God,
who takes matters into his own hands. After they have scrimped and scraped for
a long time, he will pronounce this kind of blessing over them: “Your grain
will spoil in the garner and your beer in the cellar. Your cattle will die in
the stall. Yes, where you have cheated and defrauded anyone out of a gulden,
your entire hoard will be consumed by rust so that you will never enjoy it.”

243
Indeed, we have the evidence before our very eyes every day that no stolen or
ill-gotten possession thrives. How many people scrape and scratch day and night
and yet grow not a penny richer! Though they gather a great hoard, they must
suffer so many troubles and misfortunes that they can never enjoy it or pass it
on to their children. 244 But because we ignore this and act as if it were none
of our business, God must punish us and teach us morals in a different way. He
lays on us one affliction after another, or he quarters a troop of soldiers
upon us; in one hour they clean out our chests and purse down to the last
penny, and then by way of thanks they burn and ravage house and home and
outrage and kill wife and children.

245
In short, however much you steal, depend on it that just as much will be stolen
from you. Anyone who robs and takes things by violence and dishonesty must put
up with another who plays the same game. For God is a master of this art; since
everyone robs and steals from the other, he punishes one thief by means of
another. Otherwise, where would we find enough gallows and ropes?

246
Whoever is willing to learn a lesson, let him know that this is God’s
commandment and must not be treated as (tr-651) a joke. We shall put up with
those of you who despise, defraud, steal, and rob us. We shall endure your
arrogance and show forgiveness and mercy, as the Lord’s Prayer teaches. The
upright, meanwhile, will not want, and you will hurt yourself more than others.
But beware how you deal with the poor, of whom there are many now. 247 If, when
you meet a poor man who must live from hand to mouth, you act as if everyone
must live by your favor, you skin and scrape him right down to the bone, and
you arrogantly turn him away whom you ought to give aid, he will go away
wretched and dejected, and because he can complain to no one else, he will cry
to heaven. Beware of this, I repeat, as of the devil himself. Such a man’s
sighs and cries will be no joking matter. They will have an effect too heavy
for you and all the world to bear, for they will reach God, who watches over
poor, sorrowful hearts, and he will not leave them unavenged. But if you
despise and defy this, see whom you have brought upon yourself. If you succeed
and prosper, before all the world you may call God and me liars.

248
We have now given sufficient warning and exhortation. He who will not heed or
believe this may go his own way until he learns it by experience. But it needs
to be impressed upon the young people so that they may be on their guard and
not follow the old, wayward crowd, but may keep their eyes fixed upon God’s
commandment, lest his wrath and punishment come upon them too. 249 Our
responsibility is only to instruct and reprove by means of God’s Word. To
restrain open lawlessness is the responsibility of princes and magistrates.
They should be alert and resolute enough to establish and maintain order in all
areas of trade and commerce in order that the poor may not be burdened and
oppressed and in order that they may not themselves be charged with other men’s
sins.

250
Enough has been said concerning the nature of stealing. It is not to be
confined to narrow limits but must extend to all our relations with our
neighbors. To sum up, as we have done in the previous

commandments:
On one hand, we are forbidden to do our neighbor any injury or wrong in any way
imaginable, whether by damaging, withholding, or interfering with his
possessions and property. We are not even to consent to or permit such a thing,
but are rather to avert and prevent it. 251 On the other hand, we are commanded
to promote and further our neighbor’s interests, and when he suffers want we are
to help, share, and lend to both friends and foes.

252
Anyone who seeks and desires good works will here find ample opportunity to do
things which are heartily acceptable and pleasing to God. (tr-653) Moreover, he
graciously lavishes upon them a wonderful blessing: We shall be richly rewarded
for all the help and kindness we show to our neighbor, as King Solomon teaches
in Prov. 19:17, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will
repay him for his deed.” 253 Here you have a rich Lord. Surely he is sufficient
for your needs and will let you lack or want for nothing. Thus with a happy
conscience you can enjoy a hundred times more than you could scrape together by
perfidy and injustice. Whoever does not desire this blessing ill find wrath and
misfortune enough.

THE
EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

254
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

255
Besides our own body, our wife or husband, and our temporal property, we have
one more treasure which is indispensable to us, namely, our honor and good
name, for it is intolerable to live among men in public disgrace and contempt.
256 Therefore God will not have our neighbor deprived of his reputation, honor,
and character any more than of his money and possessions; he would have every
man maintain his self-respect before his wife, children, servants, and
neighbors. 257 In its first and simplest meaning, as the words stand (“You
shall not bear false witness”), this commandment pertains to public courts of
justice, where a poor, innocent man is accused and maligned by false witnesses
and consequently punished in his body, property, or honor.

258
This problem appears to concern us only a little at present, but among the Jews
it was extremely common. That nation had an excellent, orderly government, and even
now, where there is such a government, instances of this sin still occur. The
reason is this: Where judges, mayors, princes, or others in authority sit in
judgment, we always find that, true to the usual course of the world, men are
loathe to offend anyone. Instead, they speak dishonestly with an eye to gaining
favor, money, prospects, or friendship. Consequently, a poor man is inevitably
oppressed, loses his case, and suffers punishment. It is the universal
misfortune of the world that men of integrity seldom preside in courts of
justice.

259
A judge ought, above all, to be a man of integrity, and not only upright but
also a wise, sagacious, brave, and fearless man. Likewise, a witness should be
fearless; more than that, he should be an upright man. He who is to administer
justice equitably (tr-655) in all cases will often offend good friends,
relatives, neighbors, and the rich and powerful who are in a position to help
or harm him. He must therefore be quite blind, shutting his eyes and ears to
everything but the evidence presented, and make his decision accordingly.

260
The first application of this commandment, then, is that everyone should help
his neighbor maintain his rights. He must not allow these rights to be thwarted
or distorted but should promote and resolutely guard them, whether he be judge
or witness, let the consequences be what they may. 261 Here we have a goal set
for our jurists: perfect justice and equity in every case. They should let
right remain right, nor perverting or concealing or suppressing anything on
account of anyone’s money, property, honor, or power. This is one aspect of the
commandment, and its plainest meaning, applying to all that takes place in
court.

262
Next, it extends much further when it is applied to spiritual jurisdiction or
administration. Here, too, everyone bears false witness against his neighbor.
Wherever there are godly preachers and Christians, they must endure having the
world call them heretics, apostates, even seditious and accursed scoundrels.
Moreover, the Word of God must undergo the most shameful and spiteful
persecution and blasphemy; it is contradicted, perverted, misused, and
misinterpreted. But let this pass; it is the blind world’s nature to condemn
and persecute the truth and the children of God and yet consider this no sin.

263
The third aspect of this commandment concerns us all. It forbids all sins of
the tongue by which we may injure or offend our neighbor. False witness is
clearly a work of the tongue. Whatever is done with the tongue against a
neighbor, then, is forbidden by God. This applies to false preachers with their
corrupt teaching and blasphemy, to false judges and witnesses with their
corrupt behavior in court and their lying and malicious talk outside of court.
264 It applies particularly to the detestable, shameful vice of back-biting or
slander by which the devil rides us. Of this much could be said. It is a common
vice of human nature that everyone would rather hear evil than good about his
neighbor. Evil though we are, we cannot tolerate having evil spoken of us; we
want the golden compliments of the whole world. Yet we cannot bear to hear the
best spoken of others.

265
To avoid this vice, therefore, we should note that nobody has the right to
judge (tr-657) and reprove his neighbor publicly, even when he has seen a sin
committed, unless he has been authorized to judge and reprove. 266 There is a
great difference between judging sin and having knowledge of sin. Knowledge of
sin does not entail the right to judge it. I may see and hear that my neighbor
sins, but to make him the talk of the town is not my business. If I interfere
and pass sentence on him, I fall into a greater sin than his. When you become
aware of a sin, simply make your ears a tomb and bury it until you are
appointed a judge and authorized to administer punishment by virtue of your
office.

267
Those are called backbiters who are not content just to know but rush ahead and
judge. Learning a bit of gossip about someone else, they spread it into every
corner, relishing and delighting in it like pigs that roll in the mud and root
around in it with their snouts. 268 This is nothing else than usurping the
judgment and office of God, pronouncing the severest kind of verdict and
sentence, for the harshest verdict a judge can pronounce is to declare somebody
a thief, a murderer, a traitor, etc. Whoever therefore ventures to accuse his
neighbor of such guilt assumes as much authority as the emperor and all
magistrates. For though you do not wield the sword, you use your venomous
tongue to the disgrace and harm of your neighbor.

269
Therefore God forbids you to speak evil about another even though, to your
certain knowledge, he is guilty. All the more urgent is the prohibition if you
are not sure but have it only from hearsay. 270 But you say: “Why shouldn’t I
speak if it is the truth?” I reply: “Why don’t you bring it before the regular
judge?” “Oh, I cannot prove it publicly; I might be called a liar and sent away
in disgrace.” Ah, now do you smell the roast? If you do not trust yourself to
make your charges before the proper authorities, then hold your tongue. Keep
your knowledge to yourself and do not give it out to others. For when you
repeat a story that you cannot prove, even if it is true, you appear as a liar.
Besides, you act like a knave, for no man should be deprived of his honor and
good name unless these have first been taken away from him publicly.

271
Every report, then, that cannot be adequately proved is false witness. 272 No
one should publicly assert as truth what is not publicly substantiated. In short,
what is secret should be allowed to remain secret, or at any rate be (tr-659)
reproved in secret, as we shall hear. 273 Therefore, if you encounter somebody
with a worthless tongue who gossips and slanders someone, rebuke him straight
to his face and make him blush for shame. Then you will silence many a one who
otherwise would bring some

poor
man into disgrace, from which he could scarcely clear himself. For honor and
good name are easily taken away, but not easily restored.

274
So you see that we are absolutely forbidden to speak evil of our neighbor.
Exception is made, however, of civil magistrates, preachers, and parents, for
we must interpret this commandment in such a way that evil shall not go
unpunished. We have seen that the Fifth Commandment forbids us to injure anyone
physically, and yet an exception is made of the hangman. By virtue of his
office he does not do his neighbor good but only harm and evil, yet he does not
sin against God’s commandment because God of his own accord instituted that
office, and as he warns in the Fifth Commandment, he has reserved to himself
the right of punishment. Likewise, although no one has in his own person the
right to judge and condemn anyone, yet if they whose duty it is fail to do so,
they sin as much as those who take the law into their own hands without such a
commission. 275 Necessity requires one to report evil, to prefer charges, to
attest, examine, and witness. It is no different from the situation of the
physician who, to cure a patient, is sometimes compelled to examine and handle
his private parts. Just so, magistrates, parents, even brothers and sisters and
other good friends are under mutual obligation to reprove evil where it is
necessary and beneficial.

276
But the right way to deal with this matter would be to observe the order laid
down by the Gospel, Matthew 19, 2 where Christ says, “If your brother sins
against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” Here you
have a fine, precious precept for governing the tongue which ought to be
carefully noted if we are to avoid this detestable abuse. Let this be your
rule, then, that you should not be quick to spread slander and gossip about
your neighbor but admonish him privately so that he may amend. Likewise, if
someone should whisper to you what this or that person has done, teach him, if
he saw the wrongdoing, to go and reprove the man personally, otherwise to hold
his tongue.

277
This lesson you can learn from the daily management of the household. When the
master of the house sees a servant failing to do his duty, he takes him to task
personally. If he were so foolish as to leave the servant at home while he went
out on the streets to complain to his neighbors, (tr-661) he would no doubt be
told: “You fool! That is none of our business. Why don’t you tell him
yourself?” 278 And that would be the brotherly thing to say, for the evil would
be corrected and the neighbor’s honor maintained. As Christ himself says in the
same passage, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Then you
have done a great and excellent work. Do you think it is an insignificant thing
to gain a brother? Let all monks and holy orders step forth, with all their
works heaped up together, and see if they can make the boast that they have
gained one brother!

279
Christ teaches further: “If he does not listen, take one or two others along
with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses.”3 So the individual is to be dealt with personally and not gossiped
about behind his back. 280 If this does not help, then bring the matter before
the public, either before the civil or the ecclesiastical court. Then you do
not stand alone. You have witnesses with you through whom you can convict the
guilty one and on whose testimony the judge can base his decision and sentence.
This is the right procedure for restraining and reforming a wicked person. 281
But if you gossip about someone in every corner and root around in the filth,
nobody will be reformed. Moreover, when you are called upon to witness, you
will probably deny having said anything. 282 It would serve such gossips right
to have their sport spoiled, as a warning to others. 283 If you were acting for
your neighbor’s improvement or from the love of truth, you would not sneak about
in secret, shunning the light of day.

284
All this refers to secret sins. But where the sin is so public that the judge
and the whole world are aware of it, you can without sin shun and avoid the
person as one who has brought disgrace upon himself, and you may testify
publicly concerning him. For when an affair is manifest to everybody

there
can be no question of slander or injustice or false witness. For example, we
now censure the pope and his teaching, which is publicly set forth in books and
shouted throughout the world. Where the sin is public, the punishment ought to
be public so that everyone may know how to guard against it.

285
Now we have the sum and substance of this commandment: No one shall harm his
neighbor, whether friend or foe, with his tongue. No one shall speak evil of
him, whether truly or falsely, unless it is done with proper authority or for
his improvement. (tr-663) A person should use his tongue to speak only good of
everyone, to cover his neighbor’s sins and infirmities, to overlook them, and
to cloak and veil them with his own honor. 286 Our chief reason for doing so
should be the one which Christ indicates in the Gospel, and in which he means
to embrace all the commandments concerning our neighbor, “Whatever you wish
that men would do to you, do so to them.”4

287
Even nature teaches the same thing in our own bodies, as St. Paul says in 1
Cor. 12:22, 23, “The parts of the body which seem to be weaker are
indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest
with the greater honor; and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater
modesty.” No one covers his face, eyes, nose, and mouth; we do not need to, for
they are our most honorable members. But the weakest members, of which we are
ashamed, we carefully conceal. Our hands and eyes, even the whole body, must
help cover and veil them. 288 Thus in our relations with one another, we should
veil whatever blemishes and infirmities we find in our neighbor, doing our
utmost to serve and help him to promote his honor. On the other hand, we should
prevent everything that tends to his disgrace. 289 It is a particularly fine,
noble virtue always to put the best construction upon all we may hear about our
neighbor, as long as it is not a notorious evil, and to defend him against the
poisonous tongues of those who are busy wherever they can pry out and pounce on
something to criticize in their neighbor, misconstruing and twisting things in
the worst way. This is what happens now especially to the precious Word of God
and its preachers.

290
This commandment, then, embraces a great multitude of good works which please
God most highly and bring abundant blessings, if only the blind world and the
false saints would recognize them. 291 There is nothing about a man or in a man
that can do greater good or greater harm, in spiritual or in mporal matters,
than this smallest and weakest of his members, the tongue.

THE
NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS

292
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.”

“You
shall not covet his wife, man-servant, maid-servant, cattle, or anything that
is his.”

293
These two commandments, taken literally, were given exclusively to the Jews;
nevertheless, in part they also apply to us. The Jews did not interpret them as
referring to unchastity or theft, since these vices were sufficiently forbidden
in commandments above. They thought they were keeping the commandments when
they obeyed the (tr-665) injunctions and prohibitions contained in them. God
therefore added these two commandments to teach them that it is sinful and
forbidden to covet our neighbor’s wife or property, or to have any designs on
them. 294 Especially were these commandments needed because under the Jewish
government man-servants and maid-servants were not free, as now, to serve for wages
according to their own choice; with their body and all they had they were their
master’s property, the same as his cattle and other possessions. 295 Moreover,
every man had power to dismiss his wife publicly by giving her a bill of
divorce6 and to take another wife. So there was a danger among them that if
anyone took a fancy to another’s wife, he might on any flimsy excuse dismiss
his own wife and estrange the other’s from him so that he might legally take
her. They considered this no more a sin or disgrace than it is now for a master
to dismiss his servants or entice his neighbor’s from him.

296
Therefore, I say, they interpreted these commandments correctly (though they
also have a broader and higher application) to forbid anyone, even with a
specious pretext, to covet or scheme to despoil his neighbor of what belongs to
him, such as his wife, servants, house, fields, meadows, or cattle. Above, the
seventh commandment prohibits seizing or withholding another’s possessions to
which you have no right. But here it is also forbidden to entice anything away
from your neighbor, even though in the eyes of the world you could do it
honorably, without accusation or blame for fraudulent dealing.

297
Such is nature that we all begrudge another’s having as much as we have.
Everyone acquires all he can and lets others look out for themselves. 298 Yet
we all pretend to be upright. We know how to put up a fine front to conceal our
rascality. We think up artful dodges and sly tricks (better and better ones are
being devised daily) under the guise of justice. We brazenly dare to boast of
it, and insist that it should be called not rascality but shrewdness and
business acumen. 299 In this we are abetted by jurists and lawyers who twist
and stretch the law to suit their purpose, straining words and using them for
pretexts, without regard for equity or for our neighbor’s plight. In short,
whoever is sharpest and shrewdest in such affairs gets most advantage out of
the law, for as the saying has it, “The law favors the vigilant.” 300 This last
commandment, then, is addressed not to those whom the world considers wicked
rogues, but precisely to the most upright — to people who wish to be commended
(tr-667) as honest and virtuous because they have not offended against the preceding
commandments. To this class the Jews especially claimed to belong, as many
great nobles, lords, and princes do now. For the common masses belong much
farther down in the scale, where the Seventh Commandment applies, since they
are not much concerned about questions of honor and right when it comes to
acquiring possessions.

301
This situation occurs most frequently in lawsuits in which someone sets out to
gain and squeeze something out of his neighbor. For example, when people
wrangle and wrestle over a large inheritance, real estate, etc., they resort to
whatever arguments have the least semblance of right, so varnishing and
garnishing them that the law supports them, and they gain such secure title to
the property as to put it beyond complaint or dispute. 302 Similarly, if anyone
covets a castle, city, county, or other great estate, he practices bribery,
through friendly connections and by any other means at his disposal, until the
property is taken away from the owner and legally awarded to him with letters
patent and the seal of the prince attesting that it was acquired lawfully.

303
The same thing happens in ordinary business affairs, where one cunningly slips
something out of another’s hand so that the victim is helpless to prevent it.
Or, seeing an opportunity for profit — let us say, when a man because of
adversity or debt cannot hold on to his property, nor yet sell it without loss
— he hurries and worries him until he acquires a half or more of it; and yet
this must not be considered as illegally acquired, but rather as honestly
purchased. Hence the sayings, “First come, first served,” and “Every man must
look out for himself while others shift for themselves.” 304 Who is ingenious
enough to imagine how much he can acquire by such specious pretexts? The world
does not consider this wrong, and it does not see that the neighbor is being
taken advantage of and forced to sacrifice what he cannot spare without injury.
Yet no one wishes this to happen to himself. From this it is clear that all
these pretexts and shams are false.

305
This was also the case in ancient times with respect to wives. They knew tricks
like this: If a man took a fancy to another woman, he managed, either
personally or through others and by any of a number of ways, to make her husband
displeased with her, or she became so disobedient and hard to live with that
her husband was obliged to dismiss her and leave her to the other man. That
sort of thing undoubtedly was quite prevalent in the time of the law, for
(tr-669) we read even in the Gospel7 that King Herod took his brother’s wife
while the latter was still living, and yet posed as an honorable, upright

man,
as St. Mark testifies. 306 Such examples, I trust, will not be found among us,
except that someone may by trickery entice a rich bride away from another, for
in the New Testament8 married people are forbidden to be divorced. But it is
not uncommon among us for a person to lure away another’s man-servant or
maid-servant or otherwise estrange them with fair words.

307
However these things may be, you must learn that God does not wish you to
deprive your neighbor of anything that is his, letting him suffer loss while
you gratify your greed, even though in the eyes of the world you might
honorably retain the property. To do so is dark and underhanded wickedness,
and, as we say, it is all done “under the hat”9 so as to escape detection.
Although you may act as if you have wronged no one, you have trespassed on your
neighbor’s rights. It may not be called stealing or fraud, yet it is coveting —
that is, having designs upon your neighbor’s property, luring it away from him
against his will, and begrudging what God gave him. 308 The judge and the
public may have to leave you in possession of it, but God will not, for he sees
your wicked heart and the deceitfulness of the world. If you give the world an
inch, it will take a yard, and at length open injustice and violence follow.

309
Let these commandments therefore retain their general application. We are
commanded not to desire harm to our neighbor, nor become accessory to it, nor
give occasion for it; we are willingly to leave him what is his, and promote
and protect whatever may be profitable and serviceable to him, as we wish that
he would do to us. 310 Thus these commandments are directed especially against
envy and miserable covetousness, God’s purpose being to destroy all the roots
and causes of our injuries to our neighbors. Therefore he sets it forth in
plain words: “You shall not covet,” etc. Above all, he wants our hearts to be
pure, even though as long as we live here we cannot reach that ideal. So this
commandment remains, like all the rest, one that constantly accuses us and
shows just how upright we ally are in God’s sight.

CONCLUSION
OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS1

311
Here, then, we have the Ten Commandments, a summary of divine teaching on what
we are to do to make our whole life pleasing to God. They are the true fountain
from which all good works must (tr-671) spring, the true channel through which
all good works must flow. Apart from these Ten Commandments no deed, no conduct
can be good or pleasing to God, no matter how great or precious it may be in the
eyes of the world.

312
Let us see, now, how our great saints can boast of their spiritual orders and
the great, difficult works which they have fashioned while they neglect these
commandments as if they were too insignificant or had been fulfilled long ago.

313
It seems to me that we shall have our hands full to keep these commandments,
practicing gentleness, patience, love toward enemies, chastity, kindness, etc.,
and all that these virtues involve. But such works are not important or
impressive in the eyes of the world. They are not unusual and pompous,
restricted to special times, places, rites, and ceremonies, but are common,
everyday domestic duties of one neighbor toward another, with no show about
them. 314 On the other hand, those other works captivate all eyes and ears.
Aided by great pomp, splendor, and magnificent buildings, they are so adorned
that everything gleams and glitters. There is burning of incense, singing and
ringing of bells, lighting of tapers and candles until nothing else can be seen
or heard. For when a priest stands in a gold-embroidered chasuble2 or a layman
remains on his knees a whole day in church, this is considered a precious work
that cannot be sufficiently extolled. But when a poor girl tends a little
child, or faithfully does what she is told, that is regarded as nothing.
Otherwise, why should monks and nuns go into cloisters?

315
Just think, is it not a devilish presumption on the part of those desperate
saints to dare to find a higher and better way of life than the Ten
Commandments teach? They pretend, as we have said, that this is a simple life
for the ordinary man, whereas theirs is for the saints and the perfect. 316
They fail to see, these miserable, blind people, that no man can achieve so
much as to keep one of the Ten Commandments as it ought to be kept. Both the
Creed and the Lord’s Prayer must help us, as we shall hear. Through them we
must seek and pray for help and receive it continually. Therefore all their
boasting amounts to as much as if I boasted, “Of course, I haven’t a single
groschen to pay, but I promise to pay ten gulden.”3

(tr-673)
317 All this I say and repeat in order that men may get rid of the pernicious
abuse which has become so deeply rooted and still clings to every man, and that
all classes of men on earth may accustom themselves to look only to these
precepts and heed them. It will be a long time before men produce a doctrine or
social order equal to that of the Ten Commandments, for they are beyond human
power to fulfill. Anyone who does fulfill them is a heavenly, angelic man, far
above all holiness on earth. 318 Just concentrate upon them and test yourself
thoroughly, do your very best, and you will surely find so much to do that you
will neither seek nor pay attention to any other works or other kind of
holiness.

319
Let this suffice concerning the first part,4 both for instruction and for
admonition. In conclusion, however, we must repeat the text which we have
already treated above in connection with the First Commandment5 in order to show
how much effort God requires us to devote to learning how to teach and practice
the Ten Commandments.

320
“I the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; but
to those who love me and keep my commandments, I show mercy unto a thousand
generations.”

321
Although primarily attached to the First Commandment, as we heard above, this
appendix was intended to apply to all the commandments, and all of them as a
whole ought to be referred and directed to it. For this reason I said that we
should keep it before the young and insist that they learn and remember it so
that we may see why we are constrained and compelled to keep these Ten
Commandments. This appendix ought to be regarded as attached to each individual
commandment, penetrating and pervading them all.

322
Now, as we said before, these words contain both a wrathful threat and a
friendly promise, not only to terrify and warn us but also to attract and allure
us. These words, therefore, ought to be received and esteemed as a serious
matter to God because he himself here declares how important the commandments
are to him and how strictly he will watch over them, fearfully and terribly
punishing all who despise and transgress his commandments; and again, how
richly he will reward, bless, and bestow all good things on those who prize
them and gladly act and live in accordance with them. 323 Thus he demands that
all our actions proceed from a heart that fears and regards God alone and,
because of this fear, avoids all that is contrary to his will, lest he be moved
to wrath; and, conversely, trusts (tr-675) him alone and for his sake does all
that he asks of us, because he shows himself a kind father and offers us every
grace and blessing.

324
This is exactly the meaning and right interpretation of the first and chief
commandment, from which all the others proceed. This word, “You shall have no
other gods,” means simply, “You shall fear, love, and trust me as your one true
God.” Wherever a man’s heart has such an attitude toward God, he has fulfilled
this commandment and all the others. On the one hand, whoever fears and loves
anything else in heaven and on earth will keep neither this nor any other. 325
Thus the entire Scriptures have proclaimed and presented this commandment
everywhere, emphasizing these two things, fear of God and trust in God. The
prophet David particularly teaches it throughout the Psalter, as when he

says,
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his mercy”
(Ps. 147:11). He seems to explain the whole commandment in one verse, as if to
say, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who have no other gods.”

326
Thus the First Commandment is to illuminate and impart its splendor to all the
others. In order that this may be constantly repeated and never forgotten,
therefore, you must let these concluding words run through all the
commandments, like the clasp or the hoop of a wreath that binds the end to the
beginning and holds everything together. For example, in the Second Commandment
we are told to fear God and not take his name in vain by cursing, lying,
deceiving, and other kinds of corruption and wickedness, but to use his name
properly by calling upon him in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, which spring
from that love and trust which the First Commandment requires. Similarly, this
fear, love, and trust should impel us not to despise his Word, but learn it,
hear it gladly, keep it holy, and honor it.

327
So, through the following commandments which concern our neighbor, everything
proceeds from the force of the First Commandment: We are to honor father and
mother, masters, and all in authority, being submissive and obedient to them
not on their own account but for God’s sake. For you dare not respect or fear
father or mother wrongly, doing or omitting to do things simply in order to
please them. Rather, ask what God wants of you and what he will quite surely
demand of you. If you omit that, you have an angry judge; otherwise, you have a
gracious father.

328
Again, you are to do your neighbor no harm, injury, or violence, nor in any way
molest him, either in his person, his wife, his property, his honor or rights,
as these things are commanded in that order, even though you have (tr-677) the
opportunity and occasion to do so and no man may reprove you. On the contrary,
you should do good to all men, help them and promote their interests, however
and whenever you can, purely out of love to God and in order to please him, in
the confidence that he will abundantly reward you for all you do. 329 Thus you
see how the First Commandment is the chief source and fountainhead from which
all the others proceed; again, to it they all return and upon it they depend,
so that end and beginning are all linked and bound together.

330
It is useful and necessary always to teach, admonish, and remind young people
of all this so that they may be brought up, not only with blows and compulsion,
like cattle, but in the fear and reverence of God. These are not trifles of men
but the commandments of the most high God, who watches over them with great
earnestness, who vents his wrath upon those who despise them, and, on the
contrary, abundantly rewards those who keep them. Where men consider this and
take it to heart, there will arise a spontaneous impulse and desire gladly to
do God’s will. 331 Therefore it is not without reason that the Old Testament
commands men to write the Ten Commandments on every wall and corner, and even
on their garments.6 Not that we are to have them there merely for a display, as
the Jews did,7 but we are to keep them incessantly before our eyes and
constantly in our memory, and practice them in all our works and ways. 332
Everyone is to make them his daily habit in all circumstances, in all his
affairs and dealings, as if they were written everywhere he looks, and even
wherever he goes or wherever he stands. Thus, both for himself at home, and
abroad among his neighbors, he will find occasion enough to practice the Ten
Commandments, and no one need search far for them.

333
From all this it is obvious once again how highly these Ten Commandments are to
be exalted and extolled above all orders, commands, and works which are taught
and practiced apart from them. Here we can fling out the challenge: Let all
wise men and saints step forward and produce, if they can, any work like that
which God in these commandments so earnestly requires and enjoins under threat
of his greatest wrath and punishment, while at the same time he adds such glorious
promises that he will shower us with all good things and blessings. Therefore
we should prize and value them above all other teachings as the greatest
treasure God has given us.(tr-679)

SECOND
PART: THE CREED

1
Thus far we have heard the first part of Christian doctrine. In it we have seen
all that God wishes us to do or not to do. The Creed properly follows, setting
forth all that we must expect and receive from God; in brief, it teaches us to
know him perfectly. 2 It is given in order to help us do what the Ten
Commandments require of us. For, as we said above, they are set on so high a
plane that all human ability is far too feeble and weak to keep them. Therefore
it is as necessary to learn this part as it is the other so that we may know
where and how to obtain strength for this task. 3 If we could by our own
strength keep the Ten Commandments as they ought to be kept, we would need
neither the Creed nor the Lord’s Prayer. 4 But before we explain the advantage
and necessity of the Creed, it is sufficient, as a first step, for very simple
persons to learn to understand the Creed itself.

5
In the first place, the Creed used to be divided into twelve articles.8 Of
course, if all the thoughts contained in the Scriptures and belonging to the
Creed were gathered together, there would be many more articles, nor could they
all be clearly expressed in so few words. 6 But to make it most clear and
simple for teaching to children, we shall briefly sum up the entire Creed in
three articles,9 according to the three persons of the Godhead, to whom all
that we believe is related. The first article, of God the Father, explains
creation; the second, of the Son, redemption; the third, of the Holy Spirit,
sanctification. 7 Hence the Creed may be briefly comprised in these few words:
“I believe in God the Father, who created me; I believe in God the Son, who
redeemed me; I believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies me.” One God and one
faith, but three persons, and therefore three articles or confessions. 8 et us
briefly comment on these words.

THE
FIRST ARTICLE

9
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”

10
These words give us a brief description of God the Father, his nature, his
will, and his work. Since the Ten Commandments have explained that we are to
have no more than one God, it may be asked: “What kind of being is God? What
does he do? How can we praise or portray or describe him in such a way as to
make him known?” This is taught here and in the following articles. Thus the
Creed is (tr-681) nothing else than a response and confession of Christians
based on the First Commandment. 11 If you were to ask a young child, “My boy,
what kind of God have you? What do you know about him?” he could say, “First,
my God is the Father, who made heaven and earth. Apart from him alone I have no
other God, for there is no one else who could create heaven and earth.”

12
For the somewhat more advanced and the educated, however, all three articles
can be treated more fully and divided into as many parts as there are words.
But for young pupils it is enough to indicate the most necessary points,
namely, as we have said, that this article deals with creation. We should
emphasize the words, “maker of heaven and earth.” 13 What is meant by these
words, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker,” etc.? Answer: I hold and
believe that I am a creature of God; that is, that he has given and constantly
sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all the faculties
of my mind, my reason and understanding, and so forth; my food and drink,
clothing, means of support, wife and child, servants, house and home, etc. 14
Besides, he makes all creation help provide the comforts and necessities of
life — sun, moon, and stars in the heavens, day and night, air, fire, water,
the earth and all that it brings forth, birds and fish, beasts, grain and all
kinds of produce. 15 Moreover, he gives all physical and temporal blessings —
good government, peace, security. 16 Thus we learn from this article that none
of us has his life of himself, or anything else that has been

mentioned
here or can be mentioned, nor can he by himself preserve any of them, however
small and unimportant. All this is comprehended in the word “Creator.”

17
Moreover, we confess that God the Father not only has given us all that we have
and see before our eyes, but also daily guards and defends us against every
evil and misfortune, warding off all sorts of danger and disaster. All this he
does out of pure love and goodness, without our merit, as a kind father who
cares for us so that no evil may befall us. 18 But further discussion of this
subject belongs in the other two parts of this article, where we say, “Father
almighty.”

19
Hence, since everything we possess, and everything in heaven and on earth
besides, is daily given and sustained by God, it inevitably follows that we are
in duty bound to love, praise, and thank him without ceasing, and, in short, to
devote all these things to his service, as he has required and enjoined in the
Ten Commandments.

20
Much could be said if we were to describe in detail how few people believe this
(tr-683) article. We all pass over it, hear it, and recite it, but we neither
see nor consider what the words enjoin on us. 21 For if we believed it with our
whole heart, we would also act accordingly, and not swagger about and brag and
boast as if we had life, riches, power, honor, and such things of ourselves, as
if we ourselves were to be feared and served. This is the way the wretched,
perverse world acts, drowned in its blindness, misusing all the blessings and
gifts of God solely for its own pride and greed, pleasure and enjoyment, and
never once turning to God to thank him or acknowledge him as Lord and Creator.

22
Therefore, this article would humble and terrify us all if we believed it. For
we sin daily with eyes and ears, hands, body and soul, money and property, and
with all that we have. This is especially true of those who even fight against
the Word of God. Yet Christians have this advantage, that they acknowledge
themselves in duty bound to serve and obey him for all these things.

23
For this reason we ought daily to study this article and impress it upon our
minds. Everything we see, and every blessing that comes our way, should remind
us of it. When we escape distress or danger, we should recognize that this is
God’s doing. He gives us all these things so that we may sense and see in them
his fatherly heart and his boundless love toward us. Thus our hearts will be warmed
and kindled with gratitude to God and a desire to use all these blessings to
his glory and praise.

24
Such, very briefly, is the meaning of this article. It is all that ordinary
people need to learn at first, both about what we have and receive from God and
about what we owe him in return. This is an excellent knowledge, but an even
greater treasure. For here we see how the Father has given himself to us, with
all his creatures, has abundantly provided for us in this life, and, further,
has showered us with expressible eternal treasures through his Son and the Holy
Spirit, as we shall hear.

THE
SECOND ARTICLE

25
“And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried: he descended into hell, the third day he rose from the dead,
he ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right (tr-685) hand of God, the
Father almighty, whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

26
Here we learn to know the second person of the Godhead, and we see what we
receive from God over and above the temporal goods mentioned above — that is,
how he has completely given himself to us, withholding nothing. This article is
very rich and far-reaching, but in order to treat it briefly and simply, we
shall take up one phrase which contains the substance of the article; from it
we shall learn how we are redeemed. We shall concentrate on these words, “in
Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

27
If you are asked, “What do you believe in the Second Article, concerning Jesus
Christ?” answer briefly, “I believe that Jesus Christ, true Son of God, has
become my Lord.” What is it to “become a

Lord”?
It means that he has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and from
all evil. Before this I had no Lord and King but was captive under the power of
the devil. I was condemned to death and entangled in sin and blindness.

28
When we were created by God the Father, and had received from him all kinds of
good things, the devil came and led us into disobedience, sin, death, and all
evil. We lay under God’s wrath and displeasure, doomed to eternal damnation, as
we had deserved. 29 There was no counsel, no help, no comfort for us until this
only and eternal Son of God, in his unfathomable goodness, had mercy on our
misery and wretchedness and came from heaven to help us. 30 Those tyrants and
jailers now have been routed, and their place has been taken by Jesus Christ,
the Lord of life and righteousness and every good and blessing. He has snatched
us, poor lost creatures, from the jaws of hell, won us, made us free, and
restored us to the Father’s favor and grace. He has taken us as his own, under
his protection, in order that he may rule us by his righteousness, wisdom,
power, life, and blessedness.

31
Let this be the summary of this article, that the little word “Lord” simply
means the same as Redeemer, that is, he who has brought us back from the devil
to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and now keeps us safe
there. The remaining parts of this article simply serve to clarify and express
how and by what means this redemption was accomplished — that is, how much it
cost Christ and what he paid and risked in order to win us and bring us under
his dominion. That is to say, (tr-687) he became man, conceived and born
without sin, of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin, that he might become Lord over
sin; moreover, he suffered, died, and was buried that he might make
satisfaction for me and pay what I owed, not with silver and gold but with his
own precious blood. All this in order to become my Lord. For he did none of
these things for himself, nor had he any need of them. Afterward he rose again
from the dead, swallowed up1 and devoured death, and finally ascended into
heaven and assumed dominion at the right hand of the Father. The devil and all
powers, therefore, must be subject to him and lie beneath his feet until
finally, at the last day, he will completely divide and separate us from the
wicked world, the devil, death, sin, etc.

32
But the proper place to explain all these different points is not the brief
children’s sermons, but rather the longer sermons throughout the year,
especially at the times appointed2 for dealing at length with such articles as
the birth, passion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

33
Indeed, the entire Gospel that we preach depends on the proper understanding of
this article. Upon it all our salvation and blessedness are based, and it is so
rich and broad that we can never learn fully.

THE
THIRD ARTICLE

34
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of
saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen.”

35
To this article, as I have said, I cannot give a better title than
“Sanctification.” In it is expressed and portrayed the Holy Spirit and his
office, which is that he makes us holy. Therefore, we must concentrate on the
term “Holy Spirit,” because it is so precise that we can find no substitute for
it. 36 Many other kinds of spirits are mentioned in the Scriptures, such as the
spirit of man,3 heavenly spirits,4 and the evil spirit.5 But God’s Spirit alone
is called Holy Spirit, that is, he who has sanctified and still sanctifies us.
As the Father is called Creator and the Son is called Redeemer, so on account
of his work the Holy Spirit must be called Sanctifier, the One who makes holy.
37 How does this sanctifying take place? Answer: Just as the Son obtains
dominion by purchasing us through his birth, death, and resurrection, etc., so
the Holy Spirit effects our sanctification through the following: the communion
of saints or Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the
body, and the

life
everlasting. In other words, he first leads us into his holy community, placing
us upon the bosom of the church, where he preaches to us and brings us to
Christ.

(tr-689)
38 Neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe in him and
take him as our Lord, unless these were first offered to us and bestowed on our
hearts through the preaching of the Gospel by the Holy Spirit. The work is
finished and completed, Christ has acquired and won the treasure for us by his
sufferings, death, and resurrection, etc. But if the work remained hidden and
no one knew of it, it would have been all in vain, all lost. In order that this
treasure might not be buried but put to use and enjoyed, God has caused the
Word to be published and proclaimed, in which he has given the Holy Spirit to
offer and apply to us this treasure of salvation. 39 Therefore to sanctify is
nothing else than to bring us to the Lord Christ to receive this blessing,
which we could not obtain by ourselves.

40
Learn this article, then, as clearly as possible. If you are asked, What do you
mean by the words, “I believe in the Holy Spirit”? you can answer, “I believe
that the Holy Spirit makes me holy, as his name implies.” 41 How does he do
this? By what means? Answer: “Through the Christian church, the forgiveness of
sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” 42 In the first
place, he has a unique community in the world. It is the mother that begets and
bears every Christian through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit reveals and
preaches that Word, and by it he illumines and kindles hearts so that they
grasp and accept it, cling to it, and persevere in it.

43
Where he does not cause the Word to be preached and does not awaken
understanding in the heart, all is lost. This was the case under the papacy,
where faith was entirely shoved under the bench and no one recognized Christ as
the Lord, or the Holy Spirit as the Sanctifier. That is, no one believed that
Christ is our Lord in the sense that he won for us this treasure without our
works and merits and made us acceptable to the Father. 44 What was lacking
here? There was no Holy Spirit present to reveal this truth and have it
preached. Men and evil spirits there were, teaching us to obtain grace and be
saved by our works. 45 Therefore there was no Christian church. For where
Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Spirit to create, call, and gather the
Christian church, and outside it no one can come to the Lord Christ. 46 Let
this suffice concerning the substance of this article. But since various points
in it are not quite clear to the common people, we shall run through them also.

47
The Creed calls the holy Christian church a communio sanctorum , “a communion
of saints.” Both expressions (tr-691) have the same meaning. In early times the
latter phrase was missing,6 and it is unintelligible in our translation. If it
is to be rendered idiomatically, we must express it quite differently. The word
ecclesia properly means an assembly. 48 We, however, are accustomed to the term
Kirche , “church,” by which simple folk understand not a group of people but a
consecrated house or building. But the house should not be called a church
except for the single reason that the group of people assembles there. For we
who assemble select a special place and give the house its name by virtue of
the assembly. Thus the word “church” (Kirche) really means nothing else than a
common assembly; it is not of German but of Greek origin, like the word
ecclesia . In that language the word is kyria, and in Latin curia.7 In our
mother tongue therefore it ought to be called “a Christian congregation or
assembly,”8 or best and most clearly of all, “a holy Christian people.”9

49
Likewise the word communio, which is appended, should not be translated
“communion” but “community.”1 It is nothing but a comment or interpretation by
which someone wished to explain what the Christian church is. But some among
us, who understand neither Latin nor German, have rendered this “communion of
saints,” although no German would use or understand such an expression. To
speak idiomatically, we ought to say “a community of saints,” that is, a
community composed only of saints, or, still more clearly, “a holy community.”
50 This I say in order that the expression may be

understood;
it has become so established in usage that it cannot well be uprooted, and it
would be next to heresy to alter a word.

51
This is the sum and substance of this phrase: I believe that there is on earth
a little holy flock or community of pure saints under one head, Christ. It is
called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, mind, and understanding. It
possesses a variety of gifts, yet is united in love without sect or schism. 52
Of this community I also am a part and member, a participant and co-partner2 in
all the blessings it possesses. I was brought to it by the Holy Spirit and
incorporated into it through the fact that I have heard and still hear God’s
Word, which is the first step in entering it. Before we had advanced this far,
we were entirely of the devil, knowing nothing of God and of Christ. 53 Until
the last day the Holy Spirit remains with the holy community (tr-693) or
Christian people. Through it he gathers us, using it to teach and preach the
Word. By it he creates and increases sanctification, causing it daily to grow
and become strong in the faith and in the fruits of the Spirit.

54
Further we believe that in this Christian church we have the forgiveness of
sins, which is granted through the holy sacraments and absolution as well as
through all the comforting words of the entire Gospel. Toward forgiveness is
directed everything that is to be preached concerning the sacraments and, in
short, the entire Gospel and all the duties of Christianity. Forgiveness is
needed constantly, for although God’s grace has been won by Christ, and
holiness has been wrought by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word in the unity of
the Christian church, yet because we are encumbered with our flesh we are never
without sin.

55
Therefore everything in the Christian church is so ordered that we may daily
obtain full forgiveness of sins through the Word and through signs3 appointed
to comfort and revive our consciences as long as we live. Although we have sin,
the Holy Spirit sees to it that it does not harm us because we are in the
Christian church, where there is full forgiveness of sin. God forgives us, and we
forgive, bear with, and aid one another.

56
But outside the Christian church (that is, where the Gospel is not) there is no
forgiveness, and hence no holiness. Therefore, all who seek to merit holiness
through their works rather than through the Gospel and the forgiveness of sin
have expelled and separated themselves from the church.

57
Meanwhile, since holiness has begun and is growing daily, we await the time
when our flesh will be put to death, will be buried with all its uncleanness,
and will come forth gloriously and arise to complete and perfect holiness in a
new, eternal life. 58 Now we are only halfway pure and holy. The Holy Spirit
must continue to work in us through the Word, daily granting forgiveness until
we attain to that life where there will be no more forgiveness. In that life
are only perfectly pure and holy people, full of goodness and righteousness,
completely freed from sin, death, and all evil, living in new, immortal and
glorified bodies.

59
All this, then, is the office and work of the Holy Spirit, to begin and daily
to increase holiness on earth through these (tr-695) two means, the Christian
church and the forgiveness of sins. Then, when we pass from this life, he will
instantly perfect our holiness and will eternally preserve us in it by means of
the last two parts of this article.

60
The term “resurrection of the flesh,” however, is not well chosen. When we
Germans hear the word Fleisch (flesh), we think no farther than the butcher
shop. Idiomatically we would say “resurrection of the body.”4 However, this is
not of great importance, as long as the words are rightly understood. 61 This,
then, is the article which must always remain in force. Creation is past and
redemption is accomplished, but the Holy Spirit carries on his work unceasingly
until the last day. For this purpose he has appointed a community on earth,
through which he speaks and does all his work. 62 For he has not yet gathered
together all his Christian people, nor has he completed the granting of
forgiveness.

Therefore
we believe in him who daily brings us into this community through the Word, and
imparts, increases, and strengthens faith through the same Word and the
forgiveness of sins. Then when his work has been finished and we abide in it,
having died to the world and all evil, he will finally make us perfectly and
eternally holy. We now wait in faith for this to be accomplished through the
Word.

63
Here in the Creed you have the entire essence of God, his will, and his work
exquisitely depicted in very short but rich words. In them consists all our
wisdom, which surpasses all the wisdom, understanding, and reason of men.
Although the whole world has sought painstakingly to learn what God is and what
he thinks and does, yet it has never succeeded in the least. But here you have
everything in richest measure. 64 In these three articles God himself has
revealed and opened to us the most profound depths of his fatherly heart, his
sheer, unutterable love. He created us for this very purpose, to redeem and
sanctify us. Moreover, having bestowed upon us everything in heaven and on
earth, he has given us his Son and his Holy Spirit, through whom he brings us
to himself. 65 As we explained before, we could never come to recognize the
Father’s favor and grace were it not for the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of
the Father’s heart. Apart from him we see nothing but an angry and terrible
Judge. But neither could we know anything of Christ, had it not been revealed
by the Holy Spirit.

66
These articles of the Creed, therefore, divide and distinguish us Christians
from all other (tr-697) people on earth. All who are outside the Christian
church, whether heathen, Turks, Jews, or false Christians and hypocrites, even
though they believe in and worship only the one, true God, nevertheless do not
know what his attitude is toward them. They cannot be confident of his love and
blessing. Therefore they remain in eternal wrath and damnation, for they do not
have the Lord Christ, and, besides, they are not illuminated and blessed by the
gifts of the Holy Spirit.

67
Now you see that the Creed is a very different teaching from the Ten
Commandments. The latter teach us what we ought to do; the Creed tells us what
God does for us and gives to us. The Ten Commandments, moreover, are inscribed
in the hearts of all men.5 No human wisdom can comprehend the Creed; it must be
taught by the Holy Spirit alone. 68 Therefore the Ten Commandments do not by
themselves make us Christians, for God’s wrath and displeasure still remain on
us because we cannot fulfill his demands. But the Creed brings pure grace and
makes us upright and pleasing to God. 69 Through this knowledge we come to love
and delight in all the commandments of God because we see that God gives
himself completely to us, with all his gifts and his power, to help us keep the
Ten Commandments: the Father gives us all creation, Christ all his works, the
Holy Spirit all his gifts.

70
For the present this is enough concerning the Creed to lay a foundation for the
common people without overburdening them. After they understand the substance
of it, they may on their own initiative learn more, relating these teachings of
the Catechism all that they learn in the Scriptures, and thus advance and grow
richer in understanding. For as long as we live we shall have enough to preach
nd learn on the subject of faith.

a

THIRD
PART: THE LORD’S PRAYER

1
We have heard what we are to do and believe. The best and most blessed life
consists of these things. Now follows the third part, how we are to pray. 2
Mankind is in such a situation that no one can keep the Ten Commandments
perfectly, even though he has begun to believe. Besides, the devil, along with
the world and our flesh, resists our efforts with all his power. Consequently
nothing is so necessary as to call upon God incessantly and drum into his ears
our prayer that he may give, preserve, and increase in us faith and obedience
to the Ten Commandments and remove all that stands in our

way
and hinders us from fulfilling them. 3 That we may know what and how to pray, our
Lord Christ himself has taught us both the way and the words, as we shall see.

(tr-699)
4 Before we explain the Lord’s Prayer part by part, it is very necessary to
exhort and draw people to prayer, as Christ and the apostles also did.6 5 The
first thing to know is this: It is our duty to pray because God has commanded
it. We were told in the Second Commandment, “You shall not take God’s name in
vain.” Thereby we are required to praise the holy name and pray or call upon it
in every need. For to call upon it is nothing else than to pray. 6 Prayer,
therefore, is as strictly and solemnly commanded as all the other commandments,
such as having no other God, not killing, not stealing, etc. Let no one think
that it makes no difference whether I pray or not, as vulgar people do who say
in their delusion: “Why should I pray? Who knows whether God heeds my prayer or
cares to hear it? If I do not pray, someone else will.” Thus they fall into the
habit of never praying, alleging that since we reject false and hypocritical
prayers we teach that there is no duty or need to pray.

7
It is quite true that the kind of babbling and bellowing that used to pass for
prayers in the church was not really prayer. Such external repetition, when
properly used, may serve as an exercise for young children, pupils, and simple
folk; while it may be called singing or reading exercise, it is not really
prayer. 8 To pray, as the Second Commandment teaches, is to call upon God in
every need. This God requires of us; he has not left it to our choice. It is
our duty and obligation to pray if we want to be Christians, just as it is our
duty and obligation to obey our fathers and mothers and the civil authorities.
By invocation and prayer the name of God is glorified and used to good purpose.
This you should note above all, so that you may silence and repel any thoughts
that would prevent or deter us from praying. 9 It would be improper for a son
to say to his father: “What is the use of being obedient? I will go and do as I
please; what difference does it make?” But there stands the commandment, “You
shall and must obey!” Just so, it is not left to my choice here whether to pray
or not, but it is my duty and obligation [on pain of God’s wrath and
displeasure].7

10
[This should be kept in mind above all things so that you may silence and repel
thoughts which would prevent or deter us from praying, as though it made no
great difference if we do not pray, or as though prayer were commanded for
those who are holier and in better favor with God than we are. Indeed, the
human heart is by nature so desperately wicked that it always flees from God,
thinking that he neither wants nor cares for our prayers because we are sinners
and have merited nothing but wrath. 11 Against such thoughts, I say, we should respect
(tr-701) this commandment and turn to God so that we may not provoke his anger
by such disobedience. By this commandment he makes it clear that he will not
cast us out or drive us away, even though we are sinners; he wishes rather to
draw us to himself so that we may humble ourselves before him, lament our
misery and plight, and pray for grace and help. Therefore we read in the
Scriptures that he is angry because those who were struck down for their sin
did not return to him and assuage his wrath and seek grace by their prayers.]
12 From the fact that prayer is so urgently commanded, we ought to conclude
that we should by no means despise our prayers, but rather prize them highly.
Take an illustration from the other commandments. 13 A child should never
despise obedience to his father and mother, but should always reflect: “This is
a work of obedience, and what I do has no other purpose than that it befits
obedience and the commandment of God. On this I can rely and depend, and I can
revere it highly, not because of my worthiness, but because of the
commandment.” So, too, here. What we shall pray, and for what, we should regard
as demanded by God and done in obedience to him. We should think, “On my
account this prayer would amount to nothing; but it is important because God
has commanded it.” So, no matter what he has to pray for, everybody should
always approach God in obedience to this commandment.

14
We therefore urgently beg and exhort everyone to take these words to heart and
in no case to despise prayer. Prayer used to be taught, in the devil’s name, in
such a way that no one paid any attention to it, and men supposed it was enough
if the act was performed, whether God heard it or not. But that is to stake
prayer on luck and to mumble aimlessly. Such a prayer is worthless.

15
We allow ourselves to be hindered and deterred by such thoughts as these: “I am
not holy enough or worthy enough; if I were as godly and holy as St. Peter or
St. Paul, then I would pray.” Away with such thoughts! The very commandment
that applied to St. Paul applies also to me. The Second Commandment is given
just as much on my account as on his. He can boast of no better or holier
commandment than I.

16
Therefore you should say: “The prayer I offer is just as precious, holy, and
pleasing to God as those of St. Paul and the holiest of saints. The reason is
this: I freely admit that he is holier in respect to his person, but not on
account of the commandment. God does not regard prayer on account of the
person, but on account of his Word and the obedience accorded it. On (tr-703)
this commandment, on which all the saints base their prayer, I, too, base mine.
Moreover, I pray for the same thing for which they all pray, or ever have
prayed.”8

17
This is the first and most important point, that all our prayers must be based
on obedience to God, regardless of our person, whether we be sinners or saints,
worthy or unworthy. 18 We must learn that God will not have this commandment
treated as a jest but will be angry and punish us if we do not pray, just as he
punishes all other kinds of disobedience. Nor will he allow our prayers to be
frustrated or lost, for if he did not intend to answer you, he would not have
ordered you to pray and backed it up with such a strict commandment.

19
In the second place, we should be all the more urged and encouraged to pray
because God has promised that our prayer will surely be answered, as he says in
Ps. 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you,” and
Christ says in Matt. 7:7, 8, “Ask and it will be given you,” etc. “For every
one who asks receives.” 20 Such promises certainly ought to awaken and kindle
in our hearts a desire and love to pray. For by his Word God testifies that our
prayer is heartily pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so
that we may not despise or disdain it or pray uncertainly.

21
This you can hold up to him and say, “I come to Thee, dear Father, and pray not
of my own accord or because of my own worthiness, but at thy commandment and
promise, which cannot fail or deceive me.” Whoever does not believe this
promise should realize once again that he angers God, grossly dishonoring him
and accusing him of falsehood.

22
Furthermore, we should be encouraged and drawn to pray because, in addition to
this commandment and promise, God takes the initiative and puts into our mouths
the very words we are to use. Thus we see how sincerely he is concerned over
our needs, and we shall never doubt that our prayer pleases him and will
assuredly be heard. 23 So this prayer is far superior to all others that we
might ourselves devise. For in the latter our conscience would always be in
doubt, saying, “I have prayed, but who knows whether it pleased him, or whether
I have hit upon the right form and mode?” Thus there is no nobler prayer to be
found on earth,9 for it has the excellent testimony that God loves to hear it.
This we should not trade for all the riches in the world.

24
It has been prescribed for this reason, also, that we should reflect on our
needs, which ought to drive and impel us to (tr-705) pray without ceasing. A
person who wants to pray must present a petition, naming and asking for
something which he desires; otherwise it cannot be called a prayer.

25
Therefore we have rightly rejected the prayers of monks and priests, who howl
and growl frightfully day and night; not one of them thinks of asking for the
least thing. If we gathered all the churches together, with all their clergy,
they would have to confess that they never prayed whole-

heartedly
for so much as a drop of wine. None of them has ever undertaken to pray out of
obedience to God and faith in his promise, or out of consideration for his own
needs. They only thought, at best, of doing a good work as a payment to God,
not willing to receive anything from him, but only to give him something.

26
But where there is true prayer there must be earnestness. We must feel our
need, the distress that impels and drives us to cry out. Then prayer will come
spontaneously, as it should, and we shall not need to be taught how to prepare
for it or how to generate devotion. 27 The need which ought to be the concern
of both ourselves and others is quite amply indicated in the Lord’s Prayer.
Therefore it may serve to remind us and impress upon us not to become negligent
about praying. We all have needs enough, but the trouble is that we do not feel
or see them. God therefore wishes you to lament and express your needs and
wants, not because he is unaware of them, but in order that you may kindle your
heart to stronger and greater desires and spread your cloak wide to receive
many things.

28
Each of us should form the habit from his youth up to pray daily for all his
needs, whenever he is aware of anything that affects him or other people around
him, such as preachers, magistrates, neighbors, servants; and, as we have said,
he should always remind God of his commandment and promise, knowing that he
will not have them despised. 29 This I say because I would like to see the
people brought again to pray rightly and not act so crudely and coldly that
they become daily more inept at praying. This is just what the devil wants and
works for with all his might, for he is well aware what damage and harm he
suffers when prayer is in proper use.

30
This we must know, that all our safety and protection consist in prayer alone.
We (tr-707) are far too weak to cope with the devil and all his might and his
forces arrayed against us, trying to trample us under foot. Therefore we must
carefully select the weapons with which Christians ought to arm themselves in
order to stand against the devil. 31 What do you think has accomplished such
great results in the past, parrying the counsels and plots of our enemies and
checking their murderous and seditious designs by which the devil expected to
crush us, and the Gospel as well, except that the prayers of a few godly men
intervened like an iron wall on our side? Otherwise they would have witnessed a
far different drama: the devil would have destroyed all Germany in its own
blood. Now they may confidently ridicule and mock. But by prayer alone we shall
be a match both for them and for the devil, if we only persevere diligently and
do not become slack. 32 For whenever a good Christian prays, “Dear Father, thy
will be done,” God replies from on high, “Yes, dear child, it shall indeed be
done in spite of the devil and all the world.”

33
Let this be said as an admonition in order that men may learn above all to
value prayer as a great and precious thing and may clearly distinguish between
vain babbling and praying for something definite. We by no means reject prayer,
but we do denounce the utterly useless howling and growling, as Christ himself
rejects and forbids great wordiness.1 34 Now we shall treat the Lord’s Prayer
very briefly and clearly. In seven successive articles or petitions are
comprehended all the needs that ontinually beset us, each one so great that it
should impel us to keep praying for it all our lives.